Such as when taking out car loans, mortgages, software agreements, etc etc. I bet things that take a couple of hours would take months. Imagine if people at a car dealership read every single paper they sign to take on the loan.
What if people actually sat down to read all those legal papers they sign?
- Thread starter Mahaguru
- Start date
Are you serious? I read every single scrap of paper that I am asked to sign. Who in their right mind signs a contract without actually reading it?
Dirigible
Diamond Member
- Apr 26, 2006
- 5,961
- 32
- 91
My contracts professor in law school admitted he didn't read most of the stuff he signed. Then he started trying to read one and it was all a bunch of confusing crap. "If I, a contracts professor, have a hard time making heads or tails of this, then you know the average person is completely clueless. Conclusion: these contracts should be worthless and tossed out of court if a disagreement arises, since there is no meeting of the minds."
What it shows is this professor has no real world experience.
All contracts are poorly written to protect a certain party. It is the duty of the the people signing it to understand these terms. If they don't, well...they get what they deserve.
I read every line at least 3 times before I sign or initial anything. There is so much shadiness that can go on in those contracts.
Not just asinine but impossible!
I think we have some fibbers on this board.
Are all you "I read everything I sign" folks really telling me you have read/would read the 1000+ pages of documentation you sign when buying a house?
I pay people to understand it for me. My broker/realtor are more versed in it than I am and I expect them to tell me the important points. Do you guys actually read every measure or proposal you vote on too? There is no way you understand all of it and the folks that do get paid to understand it.
GeekDrew
Diamond Member
- Jun 7, 2000
- 9,099
- 19
- 81
I've never bought a house. But I've read every page of documentation on car loans, apartment leases, and other contracts that I've had to sign.
And yes, I read the full text of everything I vote on. Then again, part of my job is ballot programming.
Originally posted by: binister
Not just asinine but impossible!
I think we have some fibbers on this board.
Are all you "I read everything I sign" folks really telling me you have read/would read the 1000+ pages of documentation you sign when buying a house?
I pay people to understand it for me. My broker/realtor are more versed in it than I am and I expect them to tell me the important points. Do you guys actually read every measure or proposal you vote on too? There is no way you understand all of it and the folks that do get paid to understand it.
Yes. I do.
I've been in corporate world way too long, been through too many negotations on verbal structures with lawyers, having to work with corporate lawyers, etc...and know/have seen what can be "snuck in". Back and forth, back and forth we go...takes months if not the good part of a year.
Do I totally understand it all? No. But i know an "out" when I see one and have used this experience to spot a dead on, OUT with no penalties.
Read the fine print. Always read the fine print. Here's a perfect example for the consumer world...
"Any late payment to any creditor, debtor, or joe that loaned you 20 bucks reserves the right to declare you in default. As suck you are subject to the default rate."
"We are not held liable to such events as an inability to locate or employ appropriate staff, blah."
*see this a LOT of times*
STRIKE IT OUT!
Yes I read every word. If I don't understand something, I ask to have it clarified. If nobody understands well enough to explain, I cross it out and have both parties initial the cross out.
I learned the hard way.
I learned the hard way.
wrong. generally contract law says that if a person doesnt really understand what they are agreeing to, then the contract is not valid. thats why a contract signed by a drunk is invalid. and that lack of understanding being important to the validity of a contract is the point the professor was trying to make
of course that is an oversimplification as there are degrees of understanding and degrees of validity, but contract disputes usually boil down to common sense and judges' sanity, not to whether you read every line...
I'll take my destiny and my level of agreement/commitment into my own hands vs. somebody else. With advice from people that actually know what they are doing and their job is to protect my best interests of course.
But you have to admit...people sign dumb contracts. Then it becomes a value/risk management decision.
kranky
Elite Member
- Oct 9, 1999
- 21,019
- 156
- 106
When we bought our house I told the agent that I would need to read over all the documents before I signed at the closing, so it would be best if he could get them to me in advance of the closing. He told me that was not possible.
So at the closing, I read through every paper before signing. I could see the people getting angry at how long it was taking, so I just mentioned to everyone that I was sorry for the delay but I had told the agent I wasn't going to sign anything I hadn't read. The attorney let out a big sigh to make sure I knew he wasn't happy. They had other closings scheduled and instead of an hour it took two. Not my fault. It's lucky that I'm a fast reader or it would have taken three hours.
You can't let those people intimidate you into rushing through a real estate deal, a loan, or anything else. The person who creates the documents is going to make sure their end is covered, right? Since you don't write them, you sure as hell better read them.
I see people spending more time trying to protect themselves on a $25 ebay deal than they do when buying a $100,000 house. Think about it.
So at the closing, I read through every paper before signing. I could see the people getting angry at how long it was taking, so I just mentioned to everyone that I was sorry for the delay but I had told the agent I wasn't going to sign anything I hadn't read. The attorney let out a big sigh to make sure I knew he wasn't happy. They had other closings scheduled and instead of an hour it took two. Not my fault. It's lucky that I'm a fast reader or it would have taken three hours.
You can't let those people intimidate you into rushing through a real estate deal, a loan, or anything else. The person who creates the documents is going to make sure their end is covered, right? Since you don't write them, you sure as hell better read them.
I see people spending more time trying to protect themselves on a $25 ebay deal than they do when buying a $100,000 house. Think about it.
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