Real Estate
Real Estate Power of Attorney
Authorize someone to act for you on a specific property transaction — with the powers, dollar limits, and expiry you choose, and the powers you withhold stated expressly.
Available product levels
Customized Agreements
$29.99Guided questions and tailored clauses for agreements that need specific protections.
When to use this document
- You cannot attend a closing in person, through travel, deployment, or illness
- Buying or selling property in another state
- Authorising a spouse or relative to sign closing documents on your behalf
- Managing a specific property transaction while you are unavailable
Information you will need
- Your details as principal, and the agent you are appointing
- Any co-agents and whether they must act together, and a successor agent
- The specific properties covered, identified precisely
- Which powers are granted, and which are expressly withheld
- Whether the agent may receive or disburse funds, and any dollar thresholds
- When the authority starts, when it expires, and how it can be revoked
- The state whose law governs, and whether the document will be recorded
What you receive
- A Real Estate Power of Attorney with granted and withheld powers
- Principal signature block and an acceptance block for the agent
- Notary acknowledgment
- Completion, notarisation, and recording instructions
- PDF and editable DOCX export
Special situations
- A real estate power of attorney normally has to be notarised, and usually recorded in the county where the property sits, before a title company or closing agent will accept it. Recording requirements and fees are set locally.
- Many states prescribe statutory form language or specific notices for a power of attorney to be effective. This document includes a statutory form notice article but does not reproduce any state's required form, so confirm what your state requires before signing.
- Naming what the agent may NOT do is as important as naming what they may. Powers expressly withheld are the limit a third party can see on the face of the document.
- Powers over funds deserve their own thought. Authority to sign is not the same as authority to receive proceeds, and the two can be granted separately.
- A power of attorney generally ends at death and may end on incapacity unless it is durable. If your concern is incapacity rather than absence, a durable financial power of attorney is the right instrument.
Jurisdiction
Power of attorney requirements are set by state law and differ substantially: some states prescribe statutory form wording, some require particular notices or witness counts alongside notarisation, and recording is handled at county level. This document states no state's required form and no filing deadline, and directs you to confirm both where the property is located.
Frequently asked questions
Does this have to be notarised and recorded?
Notarised, almost certainly. Recorded, usually — a title company or closing agent will generally want the power of attorney recorded in the county where the property sits before they will accept a signature made under it. Requirements and fees are local, so check with the county recorder before closing day rather than on it.
Will a title company accept this form?
That depends on your state and the company. Many states prescribe statutory form language, and some title companies have their own requirements on top. Confirm with the closing agent in advance — the time to find out a form is unacceptable is not the morning of the closing.
What is the difference between this and a durable power of attorney?
This one is for a property transaction, usually limited in scope and time. A durable financial power of attorney is broader and is designed to continue if you become incapacitated. If your concern is incapacity rather than being unavailable for a closing, you want the durable instrument.
Can I limit how much my agent can commit me to?
Yes, and you should. The document has articles for dollar thresholds and limits, and for powers expressly withheld. A third party relying on the document can see those limits on its face, which is what makes them meaningful rather than merely a private understanding.
Why does the agent have to sign too?
The acceptance block records that the agent knows they have been appointed and accepts the duties that come with it. An agent acting under a power of attorney owes you real obligations, and acceptance is where those start.
How do I cancel it?
Through the revocation terms in the document, and — if it was recorded — by recording the revocation in the same county. Telling your agent is not enough on its own, because a third party who has seen the recorded document has no way to know.
Related documents and guides
Answer the questions, preview the document, and pay only when you are ready to download.
Last reviewed July 29, 2026.