Any downside to giving my realtor power of attorney for the closing?

In My Humble Opinion
1

The situation: we’re about to sell the house in Maryland that we left about a year and a half ago when we moved to Las Vegas. The closing is in about a month, and we don’t want to go back just to sign the documents.

Our real estate agent says that we can grant him power of attorney for the closing, which will allow him to sign all the papers on our behalf. The form his title company has sent us allows us to check off the various powers we are granting him. It covers only the sale of this house and expires when the transaction is completed.

An important point: this agent is the oldest friend I have. I have known him longer – more than 45 years – than anyone else I am still in touch with, outside of my family. I trust him as much as I trust anyone else I know, including family members. I have absolutely no worries that he would do anything against my interests.

But, having never done this in any of my previous real estate transactions, I just want to check that there’s no down side to having him sign on our behalf. My parents still live in the area and could sign for us, but 1) they’re old and I don’t want to bother them with it (unless necessary), and B) they aren’t as well versed on real estate transactions as the agent is. So if there were any problems at closing, he would probably just end up telling them what to do anyway.

So can any of my fellow dopers think of a compelling reason I shouldn’t give him the POA?

Thanks.

2

I’m a realtor, and assuming you trust him as much as you say, then nope, no reservations. It may be helpful to call him and ask him in detail what kind of snags can come up at closing - most closings are smooth, but occasionally things happen. Discuss possible snags, and see what you’re comfortable with him handling and what he would need to call you on. It’s also okay to say that if there are any snags at all, you must be called.

Congrats on your sale!

3

I did this for the sale of my last place (in my case I used an attorney rather than a realtor, but same deal.) In New York at least, there’s a standard power of attorney form that they have to use which lists very specific duties that you are granting them the power to perform. I had no reservations about doing this and the deal closed without any problems.