Power of Attorney to Sell an Apartment: Risks and Checks

When apartments are sold by proxy

Typical cases: the owner has moved abroad, is ill, lives in another town or simply entrusts the deal to a relative. For transactions that require notarial form, and selling an apartment is one of them, the power of attorney must also be notarised. A sale by proxy is not a sign of fraud in itself; it simply calls for more checks than meeting the owner in person.

If the owner is abroad, the power of attorney is usually made at an Armenian consulate or with a local notary; in the second case an apostille and a certified translation into Armenian are generally required. Check in advance which requirements apply to your country with the notary in Armenia who will handle the deal. It helps when the power of attorney is drawn up for a specific deal: its text is easier to check, and there is less risk of it being used for something else.

What the power of attorney must contain

• The date of issue. A power of attorney without a date is invalid.
• The term. Under the Civil Code it cannot exceed three years; if no term is stated, it is valid for one year from the date of issue.
• The specific apartment: the address and, ideally, the cadastral code.
• The right to sell the apartment and sign the contract.
• The right to receive the money, if the representative will accept payment. Without this clause you must not pay them.
• The right to file documents with the Cadastre for registration.

The main risks for the buyer

• The power of attorney has been revoked. The owner may have cancelled it, and the representative “forgot” to mention it.
• The owner is no longer alive. A power of attorney generally ends with the principal's death, and a deal made under it may be declared invalid.
• The term has expired or the powers are insufficient, for example there is no right to receive money.
• Forgery. The form and stamp look convincing, but no notary ever certified that power of attorney.
• The owner doesn't know the price. The representative sells for less than agreed and keeps the difference, and later the owner challenges the deal.

How to check a power of attorney

1. Compare the owner's details in the power of attorney with the unified Cadastre extract: name, apartment, shares.
2. Look the power of attorney up in the register of powers of attorney on the electronic notary site e-notary.am. If the search finds nothing or the result is unclear, contact the notary who certified it.
3. Call the notary office named in the document and ask whether it was issued and whether it has been revoked.
4. Ask the notary handling the deal to check the representative's powers separately; that is their job, but an extra question does no harm.
5. Pay into the owner's account, not the representative's, unless the power of attorney expressly grants the right to receive money.

If the apartment has several owners, a power of attorney is needed from each owner who will not come to the notary in person. And if the apartment was bought during a marriage, the spouse's notarised consent may be needed in addition to the power of attorney; that is a separate document. A foreign power of attorney without an apostille or translation can delay the deal by weeks, so show it to the notary in advance, before the deposit.

If you are the one granting it

• Name the specific apartment and specific actions, not “manage all my property”.
• Set a reasonable term: a few months is usually enough for a sale.
• Decide whether the representative needs the right to receive money; it is safer for payment to go to your own account.
• If you change your mind, revoke the power of attorney at a notary and tell the representative and the buyer.
• Keep a copy of the power of attorney and note which notary issued it; you will need this if you decide to revoke it.

Key points

• A power of attorney to sell an apartment must be notarised; without a date it is invalid.
• The maximum term is three years; if none is stated, one year.
• Check the power of attorney in the e-notary.am register and with the notary who issued it.
• Pay into the owner's account; pay a representative only if the right to receive money is expressly written.
• A video call with the owner before the deposit removes most of the risk.