Hi, I’m Beth with TB Properties Buys Land. Today, we’re going to answer the question who needs to sign the purchase agreement when you’re ready to sell your rural vacant land. So that’s a good question. The way to answer this is I want to ask you first, whose name or names are on the deed to the property? So if your name is on the deed to the property, then you’re going to need to sign the purchase agreement. Now, if you’re married, most title companies are going to require for you and your spouse to sign that purchase agreement, even if you purchased the property before you got married and only your name is on the deed, most of the time the state law will require, I’m not sure if it’s county or state, but most of the time, the title company’s going to say, “We need your spouse to sign that purchase agreement.” Okay?
Now, to open up escrow at the title company, most of the time, just your signature will be enough to get that started because there’s a process, right? We send the purchase agreement to the title company, they set up a file, they do a title search and come up with a title commitment. And one of the requirements that title commitment may be that the spouse needs to sign the original purchase contract or purchase agreement and they’ll have to sign the closing documents. Okay?
Now this is if your name’s on the purchase agreement, what if this is inherited property? So it gets a little bit more complicated at this process. We are going to ask you a series of questions. So whose name is on the deed? Okay. So maybe this is a grandma and we’re going to ask, the next question we’re going to ask is how many children did she have? Did she ever remarry? If those children are alive, how many children did they have? Okay? So we’re going to need someone who’s an heir to the property will sign to open up escrow, but in the end, everyone who has a stake in the property, everyone who has a right to the property, will have to sign the amended purchase agreement and I say amended, because they’re going to want to add everybody to it, and they’ll have to sign the closing documents.
Apologize if this is a little bit confusing. But whoever owns the property, whoever’s name is on that deed, if they have any heirs, they have any children, and those children have children, they will have a right and title will dig that up and find that information. And they’ll tell you, “We need all these people to sign off on the sale of the property.” Okay?
If you have inherited property, like I’m saying, it’s a little bit complicated, it’s probably better to have a one-on-one conversation with you so that we can try to answer your questions individually. But bottom line, if your name’s on the deed, anybody’s name who’s on the deed for sure has to sign the purchase agreement and most likely their spouses as well. Again, if it’s inherited property, every heir will eventually have to sign that original contract and for sure the closing documents.
But again, please feel free to reach out. This is a little bit confusing and every situation’s a little bit different, but we’re happy to walk you through it. We have bought many properties that are inherited and we’ve worked with a lot of people who’ve been married and bought property beforehand. We’ve dealt with a lot of title issues. We’re happy to answer any questions you might have. I look forward to hearing from you and working with you soon. Thanks.