Closing Options When A Purchaser/Seller Cannot Be Physically Present
If you are considering or are in the process of purchasing or selling a home and you know you will not be able to be physically present at the closing table, then you have a couple of options. We will go over each option below to give you a general and basic understanding of each.
Power of Attorney
From the outset, an original power of attorney is required when there is an agent signing on behalf of another at the closing. This is true for both buyers and sellers.
A Power of Attorney is the name of the document that gives someone else (the agent) authorization to sign on a person’s behalf. For real estate purchases, depending on the type of loan that may be involved in the transaction, if any, there may be certain requirements that need to be set forth in the POA. Loans through the VA and FHA loans often have specific requirements, which can be flushed out in detail based on your specific set of circumstances. There is also a specific way the agent will need to sign on behalf of the person giving him/her authorization.
When someone is buying or selling a house through a power of attorney, then there are additional closing costs because the agent signing needs to sign an affidavit attesting to the fact that the power of attorney has not been revoked and that he/she has actual authority to sign on behalf of the other and the power of attorney itself (and sometimes the affidavit) needs to get recorded with the courts.
Mobile/Remote Notary
This occurs when a mobile notary can meet the person signing at the location he or she is at. This option is often utilized when there is a purchaser who is moving from a different state to Virginia and is still in that other state OR when there is a seller who has already moved and does not want to come back to sign the documents.
The mobile notary will witness your signatures on the pages and notarize where applicable. The mobile notary will then get the closing packet back to us, the Settlement Agent. This still allows the person involved in the transaction to review and personally sign the documents. To utilize this option, there is an additional fee, which goes to cover the third party cost of the mobile notary. Hanger Law would arrange the mobile notary for you to arrive at a location of your choosing at a mutually agreeable time.
Mail Aways
This option is much more frequently used by sellers than buyers. With mail aways, the Settlement Agent either mails you a copy of the documents you need to sign or e-mails you the copy, wherein you can then print the documents on single sided paper. With the documents in hand, you then go to a notary and sign the documents in front of the notary.
After completion of signing the documents in front of a notary, you would use the pre-paid Fed Ex envelope to overnight the documents back to our office. There is no additional cost imposed to utilize this option; however, depending on where you take your documents to get notarized there may be a fee.
Remote Online Notary (RON)
Not all lenders allow this type of option; however, it is becoming more known. To start, RONS needs to be approved by the Lender involved in the transaction. If authorized, then this option can be utilized. You are essentially given a platform to log into, and once you answer some basic questions about yourself, you are then set up through two way authentication with a notary authorized to conduct RONS, who will then verify your form of identification and then go through the documents with you. Even though the notary is not physically present with you, through this process, the notary can still notarize your documents. This option is helpful when overseas or there is not a notary near by.
Again, the above listed options can be explored in more detail depending on the particular set of circumstances you find yourself in. Please do not hesitate in reaching out and setting up an appointment to talk with us to discuss in further detail.
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