The Committee By Jim Palmer Jr.

Brokers sometimes lovingly refer to multiple clients as “The Committee”, which could include members of an LLC or family trust or even just more than two sellers or buyers who all have a say in a sale or purchase of real estate.  That moniker always indicates there is more work involved in the transaction.  Not just more signatures to obtain (possibly from different parts of the country), but there may also be significant social work involved, like marriage counseling and mediation (in the case of divorce) and maybe even negotiation among the multiple vested partners on the same side of a transaction who don’t necessarily agree to terms of a sale or purchase. 

Another form of “The Committee” is when mom and dad or other family members tag along for showings and insist on interjecting their strong opinions and intentionally exert influence in the buying process.  

Sometimes elderly sellers or buyers rely heavily on adult children or others for guidance since they are marginally physically reliant or maybe even unsteady or unsure of their mental ability to make important decisions about selling the family home or finding a replacement.  Brokers are particularly careful in these types of scenarios to be sure the principle players are competent and capable of making wise decisions.

One thing committee members really need to understand is, while brokers are sensitive to family influences and opinions, they are bound by statutes to take orders only from the vested principles in any transaction.

Brokers are careful to pay attention to legal vesting status, whether it’s a seller or buyer.   That means they can’t/don’t take orders from people who are not on title to the property or people who won’t be on title after a purchase is complete, unless that person has a legal right (Power of attorney , POA) to participate as “Attorney in Fact” for an individual in that real estate transaction.   Brokers are also careful to deal with all (the full committee) vested owners who show up on a title report.

In a recent transaction the actual vested seller was surprised and offended when an “unauthorized” committee of concerned church members  insisted on influencing a selling process, or even stopping it, by contacting the listing broker. 
Brokers often suffer anxiety when non-vested people call and attempt to interject themselves into a transaction or decision making process, especially when the real vested sellers or buyers are not on the same page as the pseudo committee member.