A power of attorney (POA) gives someone authority to act on your behalf, and you can limit the POA in any way that suits you. A specific power of attorney for real estate authorizes another person to act as your agent in one certain situation or in multiple real estate transactions.
Broad Range of Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney is a legal document that gives someone authority to act as your agent, or attorney-in-fact. But POAs are not one-size-fits-all. Craft a document to suit your specific needs. You can make a POA as broad or as narrow as you like, and you can amend or terminate it at will.
Ailing seniors often prepare broad POAs authorizing their adult children to take over management of all of their real estate matters. But it is equally possible to use a POA to appoint an agent for one sole transaction.
Specific Power of Attorney for Real Estate
A specific power of attorney for real estate is a simple legal document. It gives someone authority to buy or sell real estate for you or to transact other real estate business as your agent.
A limited power of attorney for real estate can be very narrow, simply authorizing your agent to sign a set of important documents for you while you are out of town. It can also be broad, allowing your agent to regularly manage property you own in another state.
Limited Power of Attorney Document
Use a POA form to create a limited power of attorney for real estate transactions. You will find POA forms for real estate online that authorize one transaction only and other forms that confer broad management powers. Fill in your name and contact information as well as identifying your agent.
Take time to think through and describe carefully in writing the scope of the agency you are conveying. Remember that your attorney-in-fact has authority to do any act that falls within the terms of the POA.
Arrange to have two competent adults available to sign the POA document as witnesses. They should be independent, not related to either you or to your attorney-in-fact. The POA should be signed in front of a notary.
Your attorney-in-fact for real estate has a fiduciary duty to you. A fiduciary duty is one of the highest duties recognized in the law. It means that your agent must act in good faith in all of your real estate matters. Agents must always serve your interests rather than their own when exercising a power of attorney.
Read More: Selling Property & Limited Power of Attorney
Tips
A real estate power of attorney is a limited power of attorney that gives one person limited authority over an aspect of real estate, such as the sale or maintenance of a home.
References
Resources
Writer Bio
Teo Spengler earned a JD from U.C. Berkeley Law School. As an Assistant Attorney General in Juneau, she practiced before the Alaska Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court before opening a plaintiff's personal injury practice in San Francisco. She holds both an MA and an MFA in English/writing and enjoys writing legal blogs and articles. Her work has appeared in numerous online publications including USA Today, Legal Zoom, eHow Business, Livestrong, SF Gate, Go Banking Rates, Arizona Central, Houston Chronicle, Navy Federal Credit Union, Pearson, Quicken.com, TurboTax.com, and numerous attorney websites. Spengler splits her time between the French Basque Country and Northern California.