Do You Read Before You Sign Those Documetns From A Realtor

The question I always wondered is; do clients read the papers the listing or buyer’s agent send them to sign or just sign them without any question because they trust them? I trust my doctor and the surgeon who operated on me a few years ago....However; I still read the papers they put in front of me before they treated me or did the surgery. These were people I put my life in their hands. So why would I trust my Realtor and not read the papers or have them at least explain them to me? I try to make it a policy to review each and every page of paperwork I ask a seller or buyer to sign. I will not let them sign if I feel there is any question that they do not understand or if there is something wrong with the paperwork. In some cases (time permitting) I will provide them with sample copies of what they are going to sign to read over. This way before they list the home or put an offer in they can know what it is they are signing minus the fill in the blanks. In all my transactions I have never had anyone sign one that was wrong. I have made errors on them before though....However; before I ask my client to sign I made the corrections first. This past week I ran into not one but two instances where agents rushed to have things signed or ran a stack of papers in front of a client and told them to sign and briefly and vaguely covered the topics and the clients signed. One instance almost cost a client their earnest money that she could not afford to lose that I caught for her and helped get fixed. The other happened at the closing for one of my listings. The buyer was unaware of a fee charged by the realtor who initially tried to pawn it off on the seller (which I caught reviewing the HUD) and then changed tune and billed it to the buyer. The buyer was unaware of the fee and we almost were not sure it was going to close. It put the seller in an awkward position because they needed that to close in order to get the proceeds to close on the house they were buying...In essence it was a domino effect. After THREE hours the attorney calmed the buyers down and they rectified it and paid the fee...But should they have paid it? The attorney told them that they signed an agreement stating they would pay it if the seller did not and that they would lose in court....But is that good business practice? Why not fully disclose to your clients your intentions and actions? Why did the buyers not read over the papers before signing them? All valid questions for which I do not know the answers to but for those reasons ALWAYS have clients read over the paperwork before to sign..... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell:704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com