The Unintended Counter

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If any of you have read my blogs you know that I can spell most words more than one way. Sometimes that gets me in trouble. A few years ago I listed a house that was owned by a couple of high school friends. Bobby was a pharmacist and Joan was a high school English teacher. They had moved about 40 miles away and had given me the listing on their old home.

We received an offer on their home and after calling them I decided to visit with them and present the offer in person. When I arrived they invited me to their kitchen where we went over the terms of the offer. They agreed to all the terms and signed the contract. They served me with a slice of cake and a cup of coffee. While I was talking with Bobby, Joan was reading through the contract and I noticed her striking through some of the terms of the contract. I said “Joan what are you doing?” “I thought you agreed to the terms of the contract.” She said, “I do, I was just correcting your spelling and grammar.”

I now had a counter offer instead of a contract.  I now check every contract that is returned to me even thought the signing party have told me they agree to the terms. I sometimes find that they had second thoughts and have changed something.