This question comes from an elderly friend who is worried. Is it possible for relatives with dubious motives to sell the house she lives in without her permission? She has a perfectly sound mind and no one else has her authority to act on her behalf.
I think that she saw a story on tv a little while ago about houses being sold under the noses of their owners without their permission, so she's a little wary of some of her not very nice relatives. Aren't real estate agents required to view the ownership documents and make sure that the seller is who they say they are?
Generally, it is only those who are listed on the title (all of the parties) or those who have a power of attorney, may contract to sell a property. Of course, if the person can prove that they are you ie identity fraud, then they may be able to sell the property as well.
Remember that a sale does require the vendor to sign the transfer document, as well as the agency agreement and the contract of sale. The purchasers lawyer should pick up that if the vendor is Smith and the signatory is Jones, there may be something going on. Proof of identity is usually required.
Great thanks for that.
I was with an elderly gentleman at the weekend who has a son who sold his block of apartments and kept the cash, he is going through a legal battle now to get the money back. Not sure how they managed it though.
Oh whoops. Just when I thought I could stop worrying on her behalf.
I know that when I sold a property in Melbourne, the only time anyone ever asked for my ID was in the lawyer's office right at the very end during a final transfer of money from buyer to my account. Even though my spouse was on the title, but absent in another state during the whole process, we did everything with a power of attorney form. This form was just taken at face value – no one really checked it as far as I know.
Maybe this warrants further investigation.
Yes you could just make up a power of attorney form and no one would know. I had even purchased 2 properties in my wifes name with a power of attorney in the past – but I actually gave the bank the wrong document and they never checked it.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Hi All,
Under the AML/CTL legislation it is far more difficult.
Kind Regards,
AM
My ex-husband organised for a real estate agent to go and view our home and was in the process of drawing up contracts for the agent to list the house for sale when I contacted the agent and told him that I was a joint owner and as far as I was concerned he had no right to be listing the home for sale without my permission! i don't know whether my ex was pretendng his new squeeze was me in order to get the marketting proceeds started.
I would be enquiring as to whether it is possible to have some sort of 'flag' or warning at the title deeds office or similar so that if documents do come through relating to that particular property they will contact the rightful owner. I have done something similar relating to my children being taken out of the country without my permission, I don't know if other government agencies can offer a similar service to prevent the property being sold without her permission.
Good Luck
Sonya
Hi Sonya
Yes you can put a caveat on any property you own a share of or have an interest in (even if you are not on title, such as a property in a spouse's name). This is called a caveat and costs about $90 to lodge. Once it is on there the property cannot be transfered or mortgaged etc until it is removed.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Terryw: I'll look into seeing if my old friend would be willing to place a caveat on her own property – it seems an inexpensive way to buy some peace of mind. I wonder how much it is, and what the procedure is, to remove it and will look into that.
Thanks Sonya – that's very interesting. And alarming.
AM – the anti-money laundering and counterterrorism measures don't seem to work unless the "agency" , in this case, the real estate agency, is reasonably suspicious and reports something amiss.
It seems as if checks have got slacker and not tighter in the last few years. If RE agents had to legally require the prospective sellers to go through that 100 point ID test and match ID to property documents then I wouldn't be asking the original question.
I appreciate everyone's reponses.
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