Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

Hello all,

My wife and I are leaving Houston and we have a jointly owned house that we are selling. Its on the market now, but I never got a 'durable power of attorney' from from her before I left. My estate agent says that to close, she should had filled a notarized power of attorney out, handing over her portion to me in order for me to sign the closing documents.

Is she right??

I am screwed if she is as my wifes's now in Glasgow. The nearest US embassy is Edinburugh. Is a royal pain as they only do notarizing on certain days.

Please tell me there is another avenue to being able to close on the house!. Can I not sign on her behalf being her hubby??

Cheers

Re: Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

The law on real estate is state specific, but I can tell you that if you were in AZ, you're wife would certainly be making a little trip to Edinburgh. Can't think there's going to be any great difference in Texas.

Re: Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

Shit....my wife is gonna love this ;)

Re: Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

So will you if she combines it with a shopping trip!

Re: Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

Now I am really starting to worry :eek:

Re: Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

Hi,

We faced a similar situation when I was overseas and my wife was back in the US and we sold the house. The way it worked out was, the title company drafted a power of attourney form that had to be signed by myself and "notorised". Well now this was an even bigger royal pain in the arse than what you've got because I was in Iraq at the time. So, what I did was go to the (Brit) Army legal representative in Iraq and got him to "notorise" it, despite not being a notary in the US sense. What he did was sign it all up for me and put a hefty official looking "British Army Legal Services" stamp on it, and I mailed it back to the title company, and emailed a copy. It worked fine - bullshit baffles brains, as they say ;)

So, I suggest you get the title company to give you one of those forms (or get them to email one to your wife) who can then print it off, get it sorted by a British solictor or whoever, and get her to email it back to them followed up by a the hard copy.

Re: Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

Just did a bit of googling too, there are plenty of "Notary Public" people in the UK, and there will be some in Glasgow. They should be able to notorise whatever you need for a small fee. They are usually solicitors.

http://www.thenotariessociety.org.uk..._statement.asp Check this out for more info

Re: Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

You guys are too cool...cheers :beer:

Re: Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

I just re read the power of attorney forms, the notary bit says...

"Notary public in and for the state of Texas"

I guess that implies they have to be a Texan notary....

I shall call and bend their ears a little before I break the bad news to the wife.

Re: Selling joint owned house in US / Wifes in UK??
 

Yep, so said mine for Florida. But there are ways round it, as outlined, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to use the methods I described. Always keep in mind, it is YOUR property, and you are not forced to take this kind of shit from burocratic idiots who can't see past the end of their own noses. There are no Texan notaries in the UK, therefore, they will just have to accept a UK one - as with my case, it takes a bit of phone calling and forcefullness on your part, but once you get them to see sense you should be fine!

Good luck! :)