Be diligent - Read all the contents of the documents you sign!

My learning in life so far is "read all the documents you sign". Be diligent. Try to be legally correct.

Where does this help?

1. Housing loan documentation in India is a very complex process. One has to sign every page of a 50 to 100 page document that has all kinds of legal wording. One would be amazed at all the clauses written there and how each clause takes away your right to own the property for which you're taking the loan of course, in case of any default or breach of those terms. For example, I was thinking of closing the loan after 5 years. I knew that there was a clause that says that there will be a penalty if the loan is closed before 5 years. I missed an interim document sent by my bank telling me that the '5 year' limit had been removed and if you don't dispute it then you're in agreement with the modification of terms. If I had been diligent in reading every communication from my bank then I could have done something to protect my rights.


2. In the house sale agreement, my builder had written a description of the property that is being sold. However, when a sale deed is being made for registering with the government body, the description of the property had been changed (probably with a profit motive). I had noticed it before the registration. After understanding the nature of modifications and some consultations with a lawyer, I could make the builder use the same property description in the sale agreement and the sale deed.


3. Protection from fraudulent transaction on credit cards vary from bank to bank and from country to country. When I was in United States, online purchase protection used to cover even non delivery of items where, on dispute, the credit card company will refund money into your account and then follow-up with the merchant. However, in India it is different. The credit card companies wash their hands off once the credit card transaction is authorized by you. In case of online transactions this means that your money is gone the moment you've done a mouse click. Hehe! now that I understood the difference, I'm very careful (mostly, don't use the credit card for online purchase).