Reading words is easier than understanding what they actually mean. Some of us don’t read contracts very well, including me. Why? Because the words, phrasing, and content in contracts constitute a language most of us don’t speak or write very often. Sometimes, the result is that our eyes fly over the words without comprehension.

This can also happen when we download an app, update our devices, or start using the latest social media platform. The “agree” button stands between us and that sunny meadow where we want to go. With barely a second thought, we click “agree” to the updated terms of service without reading them. Who knows what we’ve agreed to? What words and obligations lurk in the thicket of paragraphs that are 24 screens down?

It's the same with contracts.

Have you ever read your property insurance contract? When was the last time you read your Errors and Omissions Insurance contract? You could if you wanted to. What’s stopping you? It takes time. It’s hard. We’ve got other, more pressing things to do. But not reading the small and medium print when we could have makes the usual “I didn’t understand what I was agreeing to” argument very weak.

We should, at least, have more than passing familiarity with our standard form contracts. REALTOR® Code Article 1 (1.4) says we must “be familiar with the contents of most current forms currently used in real estate transactions.”

Defining what “familiar” means in the context of a complaint heard by boards and regulators is up to their respective complaint committees, and, for that matter, judges when it comes up in court. The question to ask yourself is, “Could my client explain what they’ve just agreed to if I asked them to?”

We should always be thinking about our clients and whether they really understand the obligations they have taken on when they sign the contracts we send them.

No, really. Think about the last contract you sent to someone courtesy of DocuSign or some other signature enabling online platform. Do you think the client understood what they signed? (How many of us have ever read DocuSign’s terms of use? Perish the thought.)

Property buyers and sellers rely on us to explain what they don’t intuitively understand. Agency relationships and real estate contracts aren’t exactly the kinds of things everyone spends their time talking about around the dinner table.

We can allow our familiarity with these contracts to lull us into thinking our clients understand them at the same level, but this usually isn’t the case. And pride being what it is, sometimes our clients don’t want to admit that they don’t really understand what they’re agreeing to, so they don’t ask questions or let us know when they’re hazy about what they’re signing.

Yes, they understand they’re listing their property and that you’re the person who gets their place sold. Yes, they understand you’ve typed words and numbers on a page, which, if accepted by the seller, will get them into their next place. But the details and specific legal obligations they’ve taken on? Those could be unclear, and that’s a risk to them and to us.

Words on a page. “I’m signing a contract; it seems simple enough. What’s the big deal?” Reading it for the second or umpteenth time, we start to get an inkling as to what we don’t know. That’s the OMG moment. “There’s so much I don’t understand about this,” we say.

Think about jobs you’ve had in the past. For the first several weeks everything may seem pretty straightforward until, at some point in the middle of the sixth week, you began to comprehend what you’ve gotten yourself into. (Another OMG moment for some). Eventually, with more thought and hopefully with the help of a mentor or teacher, you start to understand what you need to know about a contract (or job) so you can make decisions necessary to get to your destination.

This brings me to the two callers I had this week. The first person called for advice because she was more than a little annoyed with her REALTOR®. She wanted to cancel a listing. The member agreed to cancel the listing provided she paid some of his expenses. She didn’t want to pay for these expenses and was upset, and the member didn’t want to cancel. I explained to her that the Board can’t cancel the listing; the listing contract doesn’t have a provision for an early cancellation and that a quid pro quo of payment for a cancellation isn’t a breach of our rules. The question of lawyers and regulators came up. Could this conversation have been avoided if the wording in the listing contract had been better explained by the member and had been better understood by the seller? You be the judge.

The second caller, an acquaintance who knows what I do, phoned me about the listing contract’s reference to the seller being obligated to pay the commission if they don’t accept a full-price offer. “We’re listing it low to get multiple offers,” he said. “If someone offers us that number, our agent can demand their commission, correct?” I said yes, adding that having the right to claim a commission isn’t the same as pulling the trigger on that demand. The conversation went on for a while, and I think the caller felt better by the end of it. Now there is a seller who read the contract. He understands what he’s gotten himself into.

In summary, translate those words on the pages of standard form contracts into meaning. Get your clients to a place where they understand what’s in the contract and what they’re getting into. It’s a legal, regulatory, and an ethical obligation we all take on when dealing with the clients and customers we serve.

A member recently sent me this message:

“I’m wondering if there could be a reminder sent out and maybe some very strong words given out to REALTORS® who book showings and don’t bother to show up to the showing. I had this happen three times over the weekend. When I called them, they’re often surprised that they were expected to be there. This evening I returned a phone call to a Realtor who asked if he could send his people. Without going into all the reasons why I think this is completely wrong, is there anything that can be done to remind these Realtors to come and do their jobs and demonstrate professionalism?

“Being told by the buyer’s agent that they’re too busy to come is inexcusable, in my opinion. We’re working in challenging times and we need to work together, but this is completely deplorable. I feel very sorry for the buyers who show up, often with children in tow, without any representation. Rant over, thanks for reading this.”

As you may know, the Board isn’t able to regulate business models, including whether a member has to attend an appointment. What we require is described in the Rules of Cooperation, Rule 6.02 (b): “Cooperating Brokerages must ensure that the buyer(s) is accompanied and supervised by a licensee throughout the appointment.” That “someone” can be a surrogate from the same brokerage or a licensed assistant. By advance agreement, it can be the member on the other side of the transaction. Note the onus is on the cooperating brokerage to ensure the buyers are “accompanied and supervised by a licensee.” Common courtesy suggests the two members will discuss what is to happen, with a reasonable amount of flexibility, civility, and good communication so someone isn’t left fuming later on.