Selling your home when you live in a different city

John: In terms of selling your house but you're not in Orlando, can you get the real estate agent to sell it for you? If so, what are the risks in doing so?

Attorney Tom Olsen: John, I would say this, that when you hire a real estate agent and they're showing your home to perspective buyers, generally, they don't want you, the homeowner, seller to be there. If you're in another state, they're going to say, "Great. That's wonderful. John's not going to be here walking behind us as I show this to perspective buyers."

Then, John, once they find a buyer for you, everything can be done remotely, from you signing the contract for sale and purchase, to the actual closing or documents of moneys change hands. Nothing about that process would require you to come to Orlando. You could do it from wherever you happen to be. John, does that answer your question for you?

John: That certainly does. I was just wondering if there's any risk in giving them the keys and everything, and how would they be able to sell it for me if I'm not in the state. [crosstalk]

Attorney Tom Olsen: I'm going to have Chrissy help me with this. Chrissy, when you list your home for sale, in that listing agreement, you as a seller, the owner of the property, there's two boxes you can check. One would be, "I allow you to do a box?" What is it?

Attorney Chris Merrill: It's called the lockbox.

Attorney Tom Olsen: A lockbox so that other realtors can go look at your home without your realtor being there. The other box, you could check to say, "I do not allow lockboxes. If anybody's in that home, I want my realtor to be there with them."

Attorney Chris Merrill: Correct.

Attorney Tom Olsen: John, I would say this, that if your home is vacant, there's not a real issue with there being a lockbox. If your home is furnished and you have anything of value in there, then you probably don't want to have the lockbox option. You do want to have your real estate agent there any time somebody's looking around your home.

Attorney Chris Merrill: Correct.

Attorney Tom Olsen: John, with that said, tell me what are you concerned with? What concerns you about people walking through your home?

John: It wasn't so much them walking through, but in terms of executing a sale and negotiating the price and everything. I thought they would be signing the contract, but as you say, it's all done remotely, so that would solve the problem.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Yes, John. Your real estate agent is not going to sign the contract on your behalf and approve with the final purchase price on your behalf. That's only going to be done by you, John. Your real estate agent is going to be advising you about what the listing price is going to be and what the offers are, but at the end of the day, John, you're going to have to sign the contract approving of that final purchase price.