As an accomplished author and attorney in the real estate industry, not to mention more than twenty years leading the association, CEO of Arizona REALTORS® Michelle Lind always invites members to send her the burning questions they have but were afraid to ask!

I have a Buyer that does not speak or read English. Is a contract enforceable against the buyer if he signs a purchase contract without being able to read it? 

Yes. The parties to a contract need not be literate or able to read the contract. The general rule is, absent misrepresentation, an illiterate or non-English speaking person who signs a contract without having the contract read to him cannot thereafter claim that he did not assent to its provisions. A buyer or seller who cannot read the contract due to an inability to read or an inability to read English should select his or her own translator. 

Note: Spanish translations of the Arizona REALTORS® most often used forms in residential transactions are available on our website. These translations are not to be used as transaction documents to be signed, only as companion translations to the AR forms.