I'm pausing momentarily from the vacation report to join in the Six Sentence Story hop. This week's prompt: Contract.
Thanks for courage to refuse when necessary.
We were downsizing—not the typical thing to do with 5 young
children, but be that as it may—to a small little town, whose claim to fame was
the enormous fiberglass egg on a pole near the train tracks. The realtor said she needed another signature
on the paperwork, so I drove down to meet her.
The addendum read, “All contingencies have been met and this deal is
ready to close.” Had the statement been
true, I might not have refused, but as it wasn’t, I stubbornly kept my
signature to myself until weeks later, when all contingencies actually were
met. About a year later, I got a phone
call from the embarrassed realtor, who was calling to explain that our home purchase was
her first sale, and to apologize for trying to get me to sign that
addendum.
Always read contracts
carefully, and only sign if you are comfortable with the terms.
Thanks for courage to refuse when necessary.
Well done! I need to improve on reading contracts and other legal documents. I need to obtain a copy BEFORE the actual signature was required so I can carefully read the terms.
ReplyDeleteHaving a copy ahead of time is a good idea. Contracts can be so long!
DeleteYou are wise to do so. And, on a lighter note - I made a key lime pie this week. It wasn't really key lime, just regular lime, but very tasty. I have to go in search of key limes at a specialty store this time of year.
ReplyDeleteYum! I'd be happy to add your pie to the review page. ;-)
DeleteWhen we sold our house in LA, the realtor was fairly new and had to call her husband to help her with the contracts. This did not instill us with confidence!
ReplyDeleteWe've had young, inexperienced realtors, and seasoned, knowledgeable realtors, and the latter is much easier to work with! :-) (Of course, the seasoned ones were once new, too.)
Deletevery true (about reading the contract), every single word is there for a reason. legal language is kinda like high school Latin, seems odd but every thing is necessary… in a properly prepared and well written contract, that is.
ReplyDeleteLike Norm says, 'always read and understand…'
that's also where the white hair in the business comes from, making sure nothing is misunderstood or otherwise goes off track. kik
I imagine it would be rather nerve-wracking, especially as a new realtor, to make sure that everything was done correctly.
DeleteOften people sign contracts quite trustingly assuming that someone else has done the homework. What great advice from a true story.
ReplyDeleteThere's just too much on the line to sign without careful review.
DeleteWow good for you. And serious credit to her for calling you back & apologizing
ReplyDeleteShe was a very nice person, and definitely deserves kudos for her apology. (And though she might have thought we were difficult clients at the time, the transaction did go through smoothly.)
DeleteVery wise advise. I always read the contracts too. If you had signed they would not have been obligated to complete those contingencies. Thanks for sharing this wisdom with others.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly, funding was one of those contingencies, so we were certainly not signing until that was guaranteed!
DeleteIt's tempting to skip the tedious legalese of contracts, but so important not to.
ReplyDeleteDid someone say key lime pie? Zilla and I LOVE that!
I know a place in Key West. . .
DeleteGood for you! I watch people agree to contracts on a daily basis that they haven't read thoroughly and have no real understanding of, and so often that ends in disappointment if not more serious consequences. Our signature is a promise, we are committing ourselves and our word, so it is important to know exactly what we are agreeing to, and that we are willing to abide by those terms. I am proud of you for saying "not yet"!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It is annoying sometimes to read through all the legalese, but it is important.
DeleteYou are very wise! Another great story.
ReplyDelete