My seller has been arrested, now what? - Posted by richk (OR)

Real Estate Investing
1

Posted by Bill K. (AZ) on February 04, 2000 at 19:37:30:

Rich,

Why walk away? This guy may be in jail, but life goes on. He’s still got a home in foreclosure. The arrest just adds to his troubles. Why not make it a point to do whatever is necessary to solve his foreclosure problem?

I am not a lawyer so I don’t know the specifics of what the Power of Attorney should say. Some give general powers while others give specific powers. Also, I’m not so sure that he can’t execute a contract while in jail. If so, the Power of Attorney may not be required in any event.

Stay focused on the deal, and ignore his personal legal troubles. You want his home, not him! LOL

I hope this helps.

Bill K. (AZ)

2

My seller has been arrested, now what? - Posted by richk (OR)

Posted by richk (OR) on February 04, 2000 at 19:24:52:

I am dickering for a house going through foreclosure. I just made an appointment with the wife (not on the deed) to present the offer tomorrow morning. She said that the time was fine, but she was scrambling to get her husband to sign a power of attorney because he was just arrested. (I don’t know the charges, I didn’t ask…)

This is going to be our first deal, and I’ve got a couple of questions:

  1. Should I just walk away at this point?
  2. Exactly what do I need to see on that power to enable her to sign for him?
  3. What else should I be asking?

Thanks for your help!

Richard

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Not a big problem… - Posted by Michael Morrongiello

Posted by Michael Morrongiello on February 04, 2000 at 20:38:36:

Richard:
Whether or not a “POA” power of attorney will be acceptable on a sales contract, deed tranfer, etc. wil be up to the title insurance company that you choose to use (you DO intend to obtain title insurance don’t you on this deal?).

Title insurers get skitish when being asked to insure transfers where a POA is involved because it is one of their largest areas for claim where fraud occurs

Many POA’s are not specific enough to be acceptable to a title insurer being asked to insure a title transfer.

I just did a note deal with a felllow who was able to execute the assignment documents while incarcerated. He was able to get them notarized and everything. So it ultimately may be better to have the legal owner execute regardless of their circumstances.

I would check with your title agent and see what they think.
Michael Morrongiello