John M. Lee: Real Estate in Different Languages

In the past, there were some discussions about translating real estate contracts into different languages so people whose first language is not English would be better able to understand what they are getting themselves into when signing all those legal documents. However, if you think that court cases are complicated now, just imagine all the difficulties that can occur if the legal documents were in another language. That would make court cases and disputes next to impossible to resolve.

So in an effort to reach out and educate the public on San Francisco real estate, the San Francisco Association of Realtors (SFAR) has translated the English version of the General Information for Buyers and Sellers (GIBS) documents into Chinese and Spanish. The purpose of this is so that consumers whose primary language is Chinese or Spanish can have access to important information about the home buying and selling processes and to understand some of the nuances buying and selling real estate in San Francisco.

Many times, I encounter people who feel they were misled in their transactions by their real estate agents. They might say, "Why was I not told that I would have to bring the property up to minimum energy and water conservation standards? How come I have to strap the water heater? Why do I have to pay for the transfer tax?"

As real estate professionals, we know these rules and conventions and at times fail to present them to our clients. Or, sometimes, we do and they just happen to forget them. This happens to our English-speaking clients as well, but if they do not speak English, it seems like agents always get the blame.

So in order to service the public better, the GIBS was translated into Chinese and Spanish and the results are being monitored to see the impacts on those ethnic groups. The three primary purposes for doing this are:

1) First and foremost, to educate consumers. There is so much paperwork that needs to be signed before the close of escrow and, with the real estate market being as hot as it currently is, buyers are expected to sign off on disclosure forms even before presenting an offer. With the amount of paperwork they receive, they don't read them all. They might on the first offer, but most of them have to go through several offers to get a property. So by the fifth or sixth attempt, I might as well buy them a rubber stamp for their signatures. But on the other hand, if non-English speakers are handed all these documents for signing and they are all in English, and then they get a document that is in their native language, which one do you think they will read?

2) The second reason is for risk management purposes. I know that the English version of the GIBS has prevented many potential lawsuits and arbitration cases from moving forward, leading to a settlement early on, saving everyone money and grief instead of paying attorney and court fees and settling the cases later.

3) The third reason is from a policing standpoint. If consumers complain to governmental agencies that they are signing documents that they do not understand, and that they are being held to it legally, the regulatory branches might enforce more stringent rules because they will feel the real estate industry cannot regulate itself. This is analogous to Congress investigating Major League Baseball steroid use because Congress does not believe that baseball can regulate itself.

General Information for Buyers and Sellers has been well received by the public. Just think about it; if your primary language is not English and you are given all these documents to read while you are in escrow, and everything is in English except for the GIBS, which is in your native language, which document would you read through? The GIBS of course. The result is that my clients who use this translated document have become more educated in San Francisco real estate.

They ask more intelligent and relevant questions after reading the GIBS and thus become more knowledgeable consumers.

If you would like to have a copy of the GIBS in Chinese or Spanish, please contact any member of SFAR and they can provide one for you.

John Lee is serving as the chairperson for the Cultural Diversity Committee of SFAR. For questions regarding real estate, call him at (415) 447-6231 or e-mail johnlee@isellsf.com.