Get Them To (Not) Sign On The Line That Is Dotted…

The typical sales pitch is a full court press to weigh you down into signing a verbose and difficult to understand agreement. Fortunately, lawyers are always in the picture when the contract has to do with real estate and more often than not the final agreement is fair and balanced.


When the deals do not concern real estate however, many parties attempt to “go it alone.” It’s hard to tell whether these individuals don’t realize that they can and should have an attorney reviewing the documents or whether they do not think it’s worthwhile, either because it is cost prohibitive or that retaining an attorney will not do anything since the party offering the contract won’t make changes. Often times, the clients are told “it’s a standard contract” when they start to ask questions of the other side. If anything, sales pitch catchphrases should lead to more questions, and not to backing down. Besides, if the other party refuses to make a single change you propose in good faith and sticks to what they have as if it is holy, that should set off alarm bells.


Fortunately, several of our clients have managed to bring a contract or proposal to our offices for review just before they were about to sign them. We have come across clauses in agreements that are egregious and punitive, while other times we have found language that is either unconscionable or outright illegal.


Some clients are hesitant to bring a contract to an attorney for fear that the other side will see that as a dishonorable move and then kill the deal. However, the truth is that someone who wants you to sign something without speaking with an attorney is likely trying to get one over on you.


At Paschalidis Law Offices, we are equipped to review and draft contracts both from transactional experience and from the litigation aspect as we are often later brought in to defend a party that suddenly discovered the agreement they signed without an attorney has put them in an impossible position. Before you take the “Glengarry” the sales pitch at face value and close, be sure to speak with an experienced attorney. Otherwise, you may be bound by an agreement that is especially unfair to you.