Signing documents you can't even read
Sometimes agreements go back and forth between agents and clients, to the other agent to his/her client etc., and if each time these documents are being printed out, signed, rescanned or faxed they soon produce illegible documents.
For these scenarios, a REALTOR prepares what is called a “clarity copy” of the original document. Depending on how illegible the original transaction document is, clarity copies can be used in one of two ways:
- If the original document is messy but still legible, the client will still sign the original Agreement of Purchase and Sale, and the clarity copy would be stapled to the offer as a reference. Or;
- If the document is too messy to understand, a clarity copy would be produced to act as the official transaction document. This version of the document, once checked for accuracy, will be signed by the parties and used as the official transaction document in the course of the trade. This kind of clarity copy should state that it supersedes any previous version of the agreement.
However to avoid this in the first place, I like to use DocuSign, which is an electronic signature technology, meaning the agreement does not have to be printed out first before it can be signed. Thus the clarity and readability remains constant, not matter how many times it is signed electronically.
But if you ever come across an agreement you are asked to sign, where you are no longer able to read it, ask your REALTOR for a clarity copy to sign.
