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Residential Real Property Disclosure: Is the POA for Seller excused?

Written by Todd Ewing on . Posted in Agents, Article, Selling.

I regularly receive calls from listing agents asking if the POA (or Attorney-in-Fact) for the seller is exempt from completing the disclosure.  For DC, MD, and VA properties, the answer is “NO”; despite the fact that the POA may have never set foot in the property.

Of course, if the seller is able, it is best practice to have the seller complete the disclosures. However, in many cases, the very reason that a POA is acting is due to the fact that the seller is unavailable or, in some cases, incapacitated.  So, then what?

In the case that a seller is unable to complete the disclosures, the POA should proceed to complete the disclosures to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.  In some similar cases, I have suggested adding the following language to the disclosure statement:

The undersigned is a non-occupant attorney-in-fact for the seller, as principal.  The principal remains incapable of effectively communicating, completing, and attesting to the disclosures herein.  The undersigned, to the best of her knowledge and belief and pursuant to the powers granted by said principal as vested in her, has, in good faith, completed the disclosures contained herein. 

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Todd Ewing
Todd Ewing is an entrepreneur and attorney. After receiving his law degree from Drake University, Ewing left his home state of Iowa for opportunity in the Capital Region.He launched Federal Title & Escrow Company in 1996. The company that began on a piece of plywood strewn across a couple of sawhorses in a tiny office in Tenleytown had a unique premise: Give back to homebuyers what other title companies kick back to their referral sources.The innovative REALCredit™ distinguished Federal Title from its competitors and helped move Federal Title to the top echelon of independent title companies in the United States.A perennial trail blazer, over the years Ewing has also introduced one of the title industry’s first paperless closing workflows and a mobile app known as Close It! that was first to pinpoint for buyers, sellers and agents exactly how much cash would traverse the closing table during settlement.Ewing is an active outdoorsman who enjoys golf as well as hunting and fishing.
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Todd Ewing

Todd Ewing is an entrepreneur and attorney. After receiving his law degree from Drake University, Ewing left his home state of Iowa for opportunity in the Capital Region.He launched Federal Title & Escrow Company in 1996. The company that began on a piece of plywood strewn across a couple of sawhorses in a tiny office in Tenleytown had a unique premise: Give back to homebuyers what other title companies kick back to their referral sources.The innovative REALCredit™ distinguished Federal Title from its competitors and helped move Federal Title to the top echelon of independent title companies in the United States.A perennial trail blazer, over the years Ewing has also introduced one of the title industry’s first paperless closing workflows and a mobile app known as Close It! that was first to pinpoint for buyers, sellers and agents exactly how much cash would traverse the closing table during settlement.Ewing is an active outdoorsman who enjoys golf as well as hunting and fishing.