My Buyer/Seller is traveling and can’t attend closing, what do I do?

Posted on by Andrew Dinnerstein

While closing is a very important event that parties to a contract should take very seriously, there are times when a Buyer or Seller simply can’t be physically available at the closing location on the day of closing. The good news is that with some early notification of this issue, the title company and other parties involved, such as a lender, can usually work something out.

Most people immediately think of using a power of attorney (“POA”) which is often an option for these situations where the party in question will be traveling and has a trusted individual that can act as the party’s agent. There are a couple important issues to address when using a POA at closing:

  1. The title company will need to review and approve the POA before it can be relied on at closing as a POA for the transfer of real estate may have requirements that are not met in a general POA;
  2. If a POA is being used by a Borrower, then the POA must be approved by the Borrower(s) lender as well;
  3. A POA requires that the person issuing the POA (principal) is alive and well at the time of closing (a durable power of attorney might negate the requirement for the individual to be “well” but they must always be alive); and
  4. A POA should only be used if the principal has an agent that they trust to act on their behalf (most title/closing agents do not fit into this category and will not usually agree to act on behalf of someone for closing).

The better alternative to the use of a POA is to coordinate a remote closing with the party that will not be available to sign. Seller closing documents can almost always be signed in advance of closing so this is usually a very low stress and easy option. Buyer loan documents can often times also be signed a day prior to closing, which would then allow funding of the transaction on the day of closing itself. If a lender requires the Buyer to sign on the actual day of closing, then funding would likely occur the following day when those original documents make it back to the title company.

The short of it is that there are many options when someone won’t be physically available for closing but please talk to your title agent early so they can coordinate and figure out the best option for all.