Documents Needed For Non-Traditional Sellers
Hello this is Deirdre Brown your settlement agent serving the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Today I am answering the question of if your seller is a non-traditional seller what documents does your title company need.
If your seller is an estate we will need the Letters of Administration showing who the personal representative is and the death certificate for the decease. We also need the EIN for the estate.
If your seller is a guardian or conservator we would need the guardianship letter or letter of conservatorship in order to confirm who has the authority to act on behalf of the seller.
If your seller is using a trust to transfer a title we are going to need the trust documents so we can determine who the trustees are and what authority they may have. We will also need the EIN for the trust. If you know that your sellers are going through a divorce or a separation then please ask them for a copy of the separation agreement or divorce decree. We need to know how the proceeds should be distributed.
If your seller is an entity, a corporation, a partnership an LLC, we’re going to need their entity documents. The articles of incorporation and/or their organizational documents and their Operating Agreement. We are looking to see who are the members or who are the officers who have the authority to sell the property on behalf of the entity. We are also going to need a Certificate of Good Standing from the state. This Certificate of Good Standing needs to have been issued less than 60 days before settlement. We will also need the EIN for the entity.
If your seller is going to use a 1031 exchange. That’s great you just need to let us know and tell us who is going to be the intermediary so we can coordinate settlement with them.
If you know that your seller one or both are not going to be able to attend settlement, maybe they move out of the area. Let us know right away so we can prepare a power of attorney. This is where they appoint someone else to come to a settlement on their behalf and sign the documents.
If you know that your seller is a foreign national. The seller is not a US citizen. You also need to let us know because there are additional documentation and tax withholdings. If you want more information on that please look for my video on FIRPTA.
If this is a Maryland transaction and your seller lives out of state, even if it just in the District of Columbia or Virginia, anywhere that is not Maryland, we will need to take additional tax withholdings.
If you want more information about the Maryland non-resident seller tax withholdings or the withholdings for non-US citizens please look for my videos on those two topics.
For more title related videos please visit lexicontitle.com