An Unexpected Peril in House Hunting

Recently, we saw a house for sale and wanted to check it out. The realty company that listed the place was called, and a friendly agent gave us a tour. The agent took pains to point out defects in the place, an approach that seemed a little unusual for someone trying to promote the sale of a property -- but maybe it was just a matter of being friendly and honest. At the end of the tour, we were told about new state regulations requiring paperwork to be signed, so as to protect the interests of a potential buyer. I wanted to be done with this paperwork intrusion, and I could have perfunctorily signed. Instead I quickly scanned the form handed to me, and as I read, alarm bells went off in my mind. The paperwork was a blanket agreement for this friendly agent to become our buyer's agent for any property we might purchase. The seller's agent had morphed into a buyer's agent before our eyes. I said we weren't comfortable with the paperwork, and that was the end of it. Thank goodness I took the time to read. The experience is another reminder to avoid automatically signing a piece of paper before reading it.