That lawyer who told me to never sign anything without a translator saved my whole resettlement process

Back in 2019 right after I got to Houston, this pro bono lawyer named Mrs. Reyes told me to never sign any papers from immigration or my landlord without having someone translate every line. I ignored her on a lease because I was desperate for a place to stay. Turned out the lease said I was responsible for all repairs and they could raise rent by 15% every 3 months, cost me an extra $2,400 before I figured it out. Has anyone else here gotten burned by trusting documents you didn't fully understand?

2 comments

2 Comments

cameron_owens491mo ago

Wonder if that's more of a one off bad landlord situation than a universal rule though. Plenty of people sign stuff every day without a translator and come out fine. Seems like the real problem was that specific landlord being a shark, not the general advice.

ryan_clark401mo ago

My cousin once signed a gym contract during a power outage and got stuck paying for a closed location for two years lol.