Read the Fine Print

Do you ever watch those TV Court Rooms? The Peoples Court or Judge Judy.TV courtrooms illustrate the importance of those lengthy agreement papers signed by renters, cell telephone users, and creditors. A courtroom, in most people's mind, is where a person can go before a magistrate, explain your perceived wrong, and get some justice. Alas, this is not the case anymore. Those papers you sign before you take out that lease, or use that software, or borrow that money, are full of 'gotchas'.

You know that when you do find that apartment/house that seems just right, before you can move in, out comes the Rental Agreement. These agreements are usually boilerplate with every protection imaginable written in for the property owner. Lawyers write those agreements in legal jargon that most people cannot understand. Very few of these agreements stipulate a property walk-through where both the prospective renter and the property owner go over the property and note the 'as-is' condition before the renter occupies the apartment/house. However, almost all rental agreements have a clause that is included in the rental document that stipulates that you agree that everything is in good shape when you moved in. What happens when you sign that agreement without thoroughly inspecting the property and noting the defects at the time of move-in? You become responsible for everything that is wrong with the property when you move out. More than likely, the charges are taken out of that security deposit you made when you leased the property.

You move out of the property, have fulfilled your lease agreement, and go to collect your security deposit. But instead of collecting your security deposit, the property owner presents you with a list of repairs needed before the property owner can rent the property again. Looking at the list of repairs, you realize that most of these items were there when you moved in. The reality of the situation is that you have no standing because you signed that rental agreement that stated that everything was good when you moved in. If you choose to take the landlord to Small Claims Court, you will not be successful without proof that the damages happened before you moved in, or if the items come under the heading of 'normal wear and tear', which offers some protection for long time residents.

Judges, no matter what a litigant may think, want to be fair. One of the problems is that people lie so easily, and will say anything for their cause, so Judges have no choice but to rely on the paper work. Even though you knew that the plate glass window always had a small crack in the lower left corner, you never gave it a thought. But because you signed that rental agreement, you may have to pay for it. The lesson in all of this is before signing any documents, read the fine print. Hire an inspector if necessary for a thorough report on the property before you sign that agreement. Fine print and agreements are here to stay, so do not get caught in having to pay unwarranted claims by default because you failed to do due diligence.

Even those every day agreements like cell phones, credit, and car rentals have legal stipulations that you should find out about before signing. Weird things do happen, and before you find yourself on the wrong side of that 'fine print', you must; Read the Fine Print. Then, if you do not understand the document, don't hesitate to have it explained to you. It is your money!

Cheers

-Robert-