Yes, you can often sign mortgage closing documents in Texas through someone holding your power of attorney, but only if the lender, the loan program and the title company all approve the specific document before closing day. Lenders usually want a power of attorney that's notarized, names the property, and authorizes the specific loan, and in Texas a power of attorney used for a recorded real estate document has to be recorded too. Some loans add more rules: a Texas home equity or cash-out loan requires the power of attorney itself to be signed at a lender, attorney or title company office, and FHA and VA have their own limits. Raise it at the start of the file, not the week of closing.
A power of attorney, or POA, is a document where you (the principal) give another person (your agent, or attorney-in-fact) authority to act for you. At a mortgage closing, the agent signs the note, deed of trust and other documents in your name, and the title company records the POA with the deed of trust.
A POA isn't the same as adding a co-borrower or co-signer. The agent signs for you; they don't become obligated on the loan. See co-borrowers and co-signers.
Fannie Mae allows a POA on purchases and limited cash-out refinances. The lender has to get a copy, the names must match the loan documents, the POA must be valid on the signing date, it must be notarized, and it must reference the property address. Where local law requires recording, the lender must make sure it's recorded (Selling Guide B8-5-05).
Fannie also limits who can act as the agent. Unless they're your relative, the lender or its employees, the property seller, and any real estate agent with a financial interest in the deal can't be your agent. The loan originator and title company employees can serve only under extra conditions, including a POA naming the lender, property and maximum loan amount, and a recorded online session where you confirm your identity and reaffirm the terms.
HUD treats the application and the closing differently (HUD 4000.1 II.A.1.a and II.A.6.a):
VA allows a veteran to use an attorney-in-fact to sign any document needed for a VA loan, which helps service members stationed overseas. The POA must be valid under state law, and the veteran must consent in writing to the specifics of the transaction. A specific POA should spell out the intent to use entitlement, the purpose of the loan, the property, the price and terms, and the occupancy intent. A military POA counts as a general POA, valid only during deployment and not more than a year. The lender must also verify the veteran is alive, and if on active duty not missing in action, as of the date the documents are signed (VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 9, Topic 8). VA's occupancy rules still apply. See VA occupancy rules.
On top of the agency rules, lenders and title companies often have their own requirements, like approving the POA in advance, requiring the original, or limiting older or general forms. Ask for those requirements in writing early. See what the title company does in Texas.
A Texas home equity loan under Section 50(a)(6), which includes a cash-out refinance of your homestead, has stricter rules. A POA letting someone sign closing documents for the owner or the owner's spouse must itself be signed at the permanent physical address of an office of the lender, an attorney or a title company. The lender can rely on a statement in the POA, a witness certification, or a notary acknowledgment showing where and when it was signed. The owner's and spouse's consent to the lien must also be signed at one of those offices, either by them or by an attorney-in-fact under a POA that meets that rule (7 Tex. Admin. Code 153.15). Fannie Mae's POA rules cover purchases and limited cash-out refinances, so a cash-out file may not allow a POA at all with some investors. See how a Texas cash-out refinance works.
This example is made up to show the planning.
Staff Sgt. Ramirez is buying a home near NAS Fort Worth with a VA loan, and he'll be deployed on the closing date. Three weeks before closing, the loan officer and the title company send the lender's POA requirements in writing. His attorney drafts a specific POA naming his spouse as agent, the property address, the purchase, the use of his entitlement and his intent to occupy, and he signs it before a notary on base. The lender and title company approve it before closing, the title company records it with the deed of trust, and on closing day the lender gets written confirmation from him that he's alive and not missing, dated on or after the signing. A different family waits until the morning of closing and brings a general form from the internet. The title company won't accept it, and the closing moves.
Can't be at your Fort Worth closing? Tell me early, and I'll get the lender's and title company's POA requirements in writing so your attorney can draft it to fit. Schedule a call, or when you're ready, start an application.
Links checked Oct 21, 2026.
About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.
Equal Housing Opportunity.
Last reviewed: Oct 2026