Worried about lease agreement fine print

[im rly mad]

I've been living with my roommate since August 2010, and as we near the end of our lease I've been becoming increasingly worried about some of the things in it.

 

Firstly, we never reviewed what was already wrong with the place, which I know should have been done at the beginning so I'm worried about the landlord trying to replace everything and charging us extra even though we haven't caused damage.

 

Secondly, sometimes we are unable to pay rent by the first (like yesterday, it was a Sunday) so we do it on the second. In the lease it says, "Late fee of $15 will be retroactive to the 1st day of the month for rent received after the 1st day of the month." Does that mean she can charge us $15 for every single day we haven't paid the extra $15??

 

And also, it says at the end, "Should it become necessary for Landlord to hire attorney... tenant agrees to pay all expenses so incurred including a reasonable attorney fee."

 

Do these sound excessive or normal for a lease? I'm kind of scared, this is the second time I've rented a place (I'm 20), and I don't want to be charged thousands of dollars into debt because of legal disputes.

 

Thanks for any help.

[Jetta]

Yes you made a mistake by not going through the apartment before moving in. Now what you can do before you move out is ask them to make any necessary repairs. If you owe them rent money they will take it from your deposit. As far as an attorney unless you sue them for some reason they're unlikely to need one. But now you know to read the fine print and ask for any changes to the document before moving in (and get those changes initialed or in writing).

[iBroken]

Im confused - is this a new lease? If not, then no, if they havent charged you for being late, they cant come back at the end of the lease and say "Ok, you were late 5 times so you owe us $75"

 

As for the damages, the landlord would have to prove the unit was NOT in the condition it is in now, and that you moving in caused the damage in order for them to sue you.

[RedDress]

"Late fee of $15 will be retroactive to the 1st day of the month for rent received after the 1st day of the month."

 

^ That means that they can charge you ONE $15 fee per month that was late. It's not a per-day charge but a per-month charge. Agreed if they haven't charged you or said anything yet, it's probably because they aren't going to. Those clauses are usually in place for people who are chronically late.

 

For the condition of the place... how much is wrong with it? Are there holes in the walls or something? Crazy stains? If it's normal wear and tear, I wouldn't generally worry about it.

 

As far as the attorney fees... I wouldn't worry about that, either. They don't want to go to court any more than you do (unless they are crazy). Besides... they don't just sue. They ask you to pay for repairs or whatever it is that they think is fair. If you refuse to pay, at THAT point, they may hire an attorney.

 

As a general rule, landlords aren't out to get you. They recognize "normal" stuff (paying on a Monday instead of a Sunday, regular wear and tear), etc. and accommodate for it. Do you have a specific reason to think they might be sticklers? Have you had arguments before? Are they generally unreasonable? If not, you should be fine.