How to buy or sell your home without touching it?

Should a power of attorney for a real estate transaction be drawn up under private or notarial signature?

When drawn up in writing, the power of attorney must be complete, so that consent to the deed cannot be called into question. It can generally be signed under private seal, but it may sometimes be preferable to use an authenticated document. This is particularly true when a solemn deed is to be drawn up, such as an inter vivos gift or a conventional mortgage. For example, a notarized power of attorney is not required to sign a deed of sale for real estate. But it does need to be properly drafted! The safest thing to do is to entrust this task to your notary. He or she will ensure that all the elements are included, explain the scope of your commitment and certify your signature. But be careful! If you're buying with a loan and the bank takes a conventional mortgage as security, you'll need an authenticated power of attorney. On the other hand, if the bank takes out a privilège de prêteur de deniers, a private power of attorney will suffice. It's all a question of subtlety...

If I can't come in person, can I sign a notarized power of attorney online?

Remote notarized power of attorney was introduced during the first confinement and was then perpetuated by a decree issued in November 2020. If you are unable to travel to buy a property with a mortgage guarantee, for example, your notary will be able to offer you the option of signing an online power of attorney. To do this, you'll need the right equipment: a desktop or laptop computer, a microphone and speaker, a webcam, a good Internet connection, a personal e-mail address and proof of identity. Only the notary's videoconferencing system will be used, guaranteeing optimum security and, above all, having been approved by the profession. The procedure for regularizing the power of attorney takes place in two phases: submission of documents and verification of identity, followed by signature of the authentic power of attorney.

What's the difference between ratifying an electronic deed and remote initialling?

Perhaps you've heard of anelectronic deed? In this case, you go to your notary's office on the day, but instead of laboriously leafing through the deed page by page, the text scrolls across a large screen and you affix a single signature with a stylus on an electronic tablet. The deed is then recorded and stored for seventy-five years in a secure virtual library called the Micen.
You may also be asked to initial a deed remotely. This concerns the signing of a document for which the two parties, buyer and seller, are not physically present at the same notary's office. Let's take the example of the purchase of your second home, where you are in your notary's office, while the seller is at the other end of France with his own notary. Instead of having to travel to your notary's office to receive a deed by videotape, an electronic power of attorney will save you time, as it will limit the number of groupings to better comply with health regulations.

Stéphanie Swiklinski