Exchanging - can my solicitor sign?

oxfordmark

Hey

I have a question about exchanging.

My solicitor said we hope to exchange today, last week i signed paperwork to allow them Power Of Attorney. Does this mean my solicitor can sign the contract on my behalf? Or do they post it?

They are not based anywhere near me. So its not like i cannot pop to the office to sign it.

Thanks

phoebe1989seb

Last year my parents' house had to be sold as they had both gone into a nursing home as a result of dementia. I had POA for my dad (registered the previous year), but unfortunately my dad had POA for my mum - he had only developed Vascular dementia in the last few months, whereas she has had Alzheimer's for several years. The family solicitor was his deputy on the POA however, so when it came to signing the contract for exchange on their house sale, the solicitor signed for my mum and I signed for my dad......so it is possible the solicitor could sign.

Has the POA been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) though? This can take several months to come through IIRC......

oxfordmark

Exchange delayed until Monday due to the vendor not being able to get to his solicitor until late this arvo.

Flat_Eric

Yes your solicitor can sign the Contract on your behalf in anticipation of exchange of contracts. To my knowledge, you don't need to have a Power of Attorney in place for your solicitor to be able to do this but the Power of Attorney would be needed if you wanted your solicitor to sign the Transfer document as well.

There are various Power of Attorneys (depending on the circumstances) and not all need to be registered with the office of the public guardian.

oxfordmark

Still not heard back from my solicitor yet, I dont want to keep hassling, but i want to know if its all ok!