Colorums Posing as Special Power of Attorney

This is one of the most blatant Anomaly of all time. This anomaly is often perpetrated by colorum real estate agents, and as well as real Lawyers.

I also have encountered colorum real estate agents concealing their illegal acts of brokering properties behind a Special-Power-of-Attorney (SPA) from the real estate owners. There is no Anomaly SPAs applied in the real estate market, as long as it follows the prescription of the law below.

The Section 28 of the Republic Act 9646 is the provision that draws the legal line about the exemptions from the Acts Constituting the Practice of Real Estate Service. Section 28 says that the provisions of this Act and its rules and regulations (refering to the Real Estate Service Act 9646) shall not apply to the following:

(A) Any person, natural or judicial, who shall directly perform by himself/herself the acts mentioned in Section 3 hereof with reference to his/her or its own property, except real estate developers;

(B) Any receiver, trustee or assignee in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings;

(C) Any person acting pursuant to the order of any court of justice; and

(D) Any person who is duly constituted attorney-in-fact for purposes of sale, mortgage, lease or exchange, or other similar contracts of real estate, without requiring any form of compensation or remuneration;

(E) Public officers in the performance of their official duties and functions, except government assessors and appraisers.

It is very clear that SPAs of any person is okay as long as they provide representation without requiring any form of compensation or remuneration. But if a particular SPA specifies an explicit or implied compensation or renumeration such as commission or overprice, then it will become anomalous; and the SPA is a solid documentary evidence of violation of RA 9646.

Therefore, be careful with agents posing as SPAs. If SPA holders are looking forward to shares of commissions, then they are actually practicing real estate brokerage and salesmanship. They should get a license and registration first, otherwise they may face legal charges.

In short, even a Lawyer cannot act as Agent using Special-Power-of-Attorney IF there is a stipulation of renumeration for the act of real estate agency, unless he/she meets the other exemptions listed above.

Starting July 30, 2009, the day the Real Estate Service Act takes effect, the service of a Real Estate Agency in the Philippines is given by government to Licensed Real Estate Brokers.

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