The Veridian Blog

You just realized that you must travel overseas during an important phase of the purchase transaction when the loan documents are about to be ready to sign.  As close of escrow is fast approaching, you cannot afford to wait until you return – what possible solutions are there?

Ideally for all, it is best for buyers to sign the loan documents themselves.  However, situations will arise where it is difficult, or too time-consuming to ship documents overseas, find a notary or comparable signing authority that will satisfy international laws as well as the lender’s guidelines.  Too often, a common error or a missed notary stamp can unhinge the entire fire drill and land you back at square one. 

In situations like these, it is a good idea for a buyer to execute a Limited Power of Attorney (POA) to authorize another person (usually the spouse) to sign on his or her behalf.  If there is no spouse to grant the power to, then we still recommend a trusted family member.  Beyond that circle of trust, too many complications can arise that may land you in a heap of legal mess if something goes awry.  So before leaving, be sure to execute the POA in front of a public notary and contact your lender to see if they need to review the document before docs are sent to escrow.  Some lenders will have to amend signature blocks to make sure the person granted the authority signs the documents properly.

Once the documents are ready, the person holding the POA will sign every initial and signature block as “Name of Client, by Name of Person, his/her attorney in fact”.  Sure, this is a lot of writing and hand cramps are likely, but it is certainly worth the headache of shipping documents back and forth with no guarantee that things will go smoothly.