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Doing everything electronically

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  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    TBagpuss wrote: »
    It would be possible to grant a limited power of attorney to allow your solicitor or another person to sign the deed on your behalf, but then you would have to pay for the POA to be drawn up, so you may find that simply using a courier to get the documents back would be more cost effective.
    5 minutes to produce a bog standard POA of this sort. Shouldn't warrant a significant fee.
  • HappyFrog
    HappyFrog Posts: 37 Forumite
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    Thanks again. We have now chosen a conveyancer, and with a combination of e-mailing the docs to us to print, sign and courier back to the UK I think we can reduce the delay to a reasonable time. Getting suitable witnesses shouldn't be a problem. Getting a POA seems to me to just be adding yet another layer of bureaucracy.

    I posted my question in the hope that processes might have improved since we last purchased a property in 2005, but it would seem that things are still stuck in the 18th century. I read somewhere that the government is looking at making some changes to the buying/selling process. Something I at least would very much welcome!
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    HappyFrog wrote: »
    Getting a POA seems to me to just be adding yet another layer of bureaucracy.
    Not sure why you think that - it really would make things much quicker.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    HappyFrog wrote: »
    Thanks again. We have now chosen a conveyancer, and with a combination of e-mailing the docs to us to print, sign and courier back to the UK I think we can reduce the delay to a reasonable time. Getting suitable witnesses shouldn't be a problem. Getting a POA seems to me to just be adding yet another layer of bureaucracy.

    Yes - and no. It moves your involvement in the bureaucracy to when it's less time-critical.
    I posted my question in the hope that processes might have improved since we last purchased a property in 2005, but it would seem that things are still stuck in the 18th century. I read somewhere that the government is looking at making some changes to the buying/selling process. Something I at least would very much welcome!
    ...says the man who chooses to live somewhere seemingly so remote that no post can possibly travel from the UK in less than a fortnight!
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,449 Forumite
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    HappyFrog wrote: »
    I posted my question in the hope that processes might have improved since we last purchased a property in 2005, but it would seem that things are still stuck in the 18th century.

    Well... you should try buying and selling property in some other European countries!

    Buyer, Seller and EA(s) have to turn up at the Notary's office at the same time, and the notary reads out the contracts and asks each person if they understand.

    And if you're foreign, you have to pay for a state-registered interpreter.

    It's like a wedding ceremony!

    It's all taken very seriously. On one occasion, when a seller couldn't attend, they had to give a barrister power of attorney and pay them to attend and answer questions on their behalf.


    (Which leads on to an interesting thought... on that basis, I wonder if you could give a barrister power of attorney to attend your wedding ceremony on your behalf?)
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    eddddy wrote: »
    (Which leads on to an interesting thought... on that basis, I wonder if you could give a barrister power of attorney to attend your wedding ceremony on your behalf?)
    Can you imagine how expensive the divorce would be?
  • HappyFrog
    HappyFrog Posts: 37 Forumite
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    ...says the man who chooses to live somewhere seemingly so remote that no post can possibly travel from the UK in less than a fortnight!/QUOTE]

    Yes, well not every country has a functioning postal system - hence the need to use a courier company. But things may be looking up - we received some Christmas cards last week - posted for Christmas 2016. I am not kidding..
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    I think you miss my point...

    You are complaining about inefficiencies of a system that is very infrequently used by most individuals, and where fraud would carry huge financial consequences, in a country you have chosen not to live in, instead preferring to live in a country where even the most basic of systems simply don't appear to function...

    The irony is that the delay you are complaining of, and blaming on the systems in the country you have left behind, appear to be entirely caused by the failure of basic provisions in your preferred home...
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    ...and then also reject a solution which would allow you to get things done by instructing your solicitor by phone/email rather than by transporting bits of paper across the world.
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