Practitioners in the business of representing others in the marketing and sale of real property must know that the parties responsible in decision making regarding the listing, marketing and sale of real estate, are those who have the authority to sign and make decisions. There may be some legal arrangements that would affect this understanding, but generally, the true owners are those who hold the legal interest and are of public record. A couple of incidents may be illustrative.
The first is the case of an owner wife putting the property on the market and getting an offer from a buyer desiring the property. The buyer appeared to be sincere and everything moved forward to closing, but the transaction failed at settlement when it was learned that the owner husband, who was also one of the owners of record, had not signed the listing agreement and refused to sign the documents to effect the sale.
A second case is that of a listing of a residential property with a widow owner. Shortly after the property had been placed on the market, the seller's son objected to it being up for sale and requested that the listing be cancelled. The property had been his at some previous point, but for whatever reason, it was now in the name of the mother who had contracted to list the home and authorized it to be marketed for sale. The legal party to the agreement with the Broker was the owner of record who is the one who authorized the listing and, in fact, is the principal who signed the documents.
Practitioners and principals must communicate and counsel together to be certain that the real intent of the parties is ascertained and that the proper parties with the appropriate authority and legal right to contract are really the ones taking the action.
Professionals associated with title and escrow companies not only can play a big role in helping to identify ownership interests in real property, but they also are in fact the entities that show the names, titles and interests and determine whether or not to insure the title when title insurance is a condition of sale.
St. George REALTOR® Jim Coleman is Associate Broker and Partner/Owner of ERA Brokers Consolidated. He Specializes in Residential, Investment and Commercial Real Estate, holding National Designations of Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Resort and Second Home Property Specialist (RSPS), Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES), Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), GREEN Property Specialist, and Certified Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource Specialist (SFR). You can contact him by e-mail at Jim@JimColeman4Homes.com. Call: (435) 627-5411; or write: Jim Coleman, 201 East St. George Boulevard, St. George, Utah 84770. This and other columns are available at www.WinningTalk.com/articles.