A seller has listed a home with a broker for $112,000. The seller is leaving for a 45-day cruise midway through the listing period and authorizes the…

The seller granted the broker a limited power of attorney, making the broker an "attorney-in-fact" for a specific purpose. This legal instrument explicitly authorized the broker to accept any all-cash offer of $108,000 or more. The offer received for $110,000 in all cash falls squarely within the scope of this delegated authority. Therefore, the broker is legally empowered to accept the offer on behalf of the seller, binding the seller to the contract just as if the seller had accepted it themselves. The purpose of such a power of attorney is to allow transactions to proceed during the principal's absence.

A. The very purpose of the power of attorney was to grant the broker authority to act during the seller's 45-day absence, making this statement incorrect.

B. The power of attorney granted the broker the authority to accept the offer directly, not merely to forward it to another party for consideration.

D. The authority was a limited power of attorney specifically for accepting an offer. It did not grant the broader power to execute a deed or manage the closing.

1. New Jersey Statutes Annotated (N.J.S.A.) 46:2B-8.2. Authority of agent; when entry of agent authorized. This statute establishes that the scope of an agent's authority under a power of attorney is determined by the express terms of the document. The broker acted within the express authority granted.

2. New Jersey Statutes Annotated (N.J.S.A.) 46:2B-8.9. Real property. This section outlines the specific powers related to real property that can be granted via a power of attorney, including the authority to "contract to sell... or otherwise dispose of an estate or interest in real property." The broker's authority to accept an offer falls under this provision.

3. Rutgers Law School, Course Syllabus, Property Law. Course materials on property and agency law establish the principle of a "special agent" or an "attorney-in-fact" who is authorized to perform specific acts on behalf of a principal. The authority is strictly construed according to the terms of the enabling instrument (the power of attorney). The broker in this scenario is acting as a special agent with a clearly defined task.