Power of attorney - what can possibly go wrong?

[Nick B.]

Hello BP!

I found a house for sale where the seller gave power of attorney to sell the house to his brother. Here are the few details I got from the listing agent:

A family lived in this house for a long time. Then the wife died about a month ago and the husband got into a nursing home. I don't know if there are any children involved.

The husband gave his brother a power of attorney to sell the house.  Meanwhile, the house is currently occupied by some relatives who are supposed to move out upon the sale.

I checked the public records and found nothing about this power of attorney. Maybe it has not made into the county online system yet or maybe it does not even exist - I don't know that.

What can I do to protect myself in this situation? How do I verify the power of attorney is legit?

Here are a few scenarios I thought of:

• The seller gave the power of attorney while being under duress or was tricked by his brother. If the seller realizes that he was duped, can he somehow invalidate the transaction after the house was sold?
• The seller is in really bad health and dies before the closing date. Does it change anything from the buyer's perspective?
• The power of attorney is legit but the seller did not get the money that his brother received for the sale. Can the seller go after the buyer?
• The seller (via his brother) promises to remove the current tenants before the closing date. This is the part of the sales contract. However, the tenants are sill in the house after the closing. Who is responsible for removing them in this case, considering that they have no lease and don't pay rent being relatives of the seller? Does the buyer have to evict them as if they were real tenants?

I plan to use the same listing agent to represent me as well as the seller. Does it change anything?

Thanks
Nick