We had a couple move into our SFR from New York. The husband was transferred by the Coast Guard. They reviewed the lease before traveling and agreed to it's terms, signing it when they arrived and paying the deposit.
Within the first week they were complaining about not being able to get internet at the home. There are two options for internet, the local cable provider and AT&T DSL. They were not happy with the options.
Next, they asked us to go down on the rent because they found a townhome with a washer & dryer for a lower monthly rate nearby and we did not provide a washer & dryer. They did not like the idea of using a laundramat. We explained that the details of the home were clearly explained in the rental add description.
They replied that they would probably just move to the townhome, since they would not have to cut grass there either. We then explained that they had signed a 12 month lease and were not on a month to month lease. The husband proceeded to argue with us that they were there on a month to month basis. He finally read the lease and stopped his line of argument.
The next thing for him to complain about was that there was some dirt in the shed/storage building in the back yard. He was afraid of what might be in the shed and did not want snakes or rats to attack his toddler daughter. The building was empty with a little dirt/dust on the floor. We had someone sweep it out.
Then he comes up with a story that he was being reassigned to a different office within the same area and and might have to move because he had to be within 30 miles of that office. He probably did not bother to measure the distance, because he was already within 30 miles.
We asked him to provide a copy of his orders, but he could not do that. He sent a copy of a billet list (sp?), a list of personnel assigned to a location, but still no official orders saying that he needed to be within a certain range of the office.
We then get a text message that he will be moving out within the week and he needs his deposit back when he hands over the keys so he can move into the new place. This did not comply with the terms of the lease stating 30 days notice by the tenant or the landlord.
He also stated, rather rudely, that we needed to accomplish this before the end of the month and if we did not, he would go to Coast Guard Legal with the issue.
My wife called Coast Guard Legal the very next morning and explained what was going on. Within an hour, we received a text apology for the rudeness, an emailed copy of a letter from the tenant's commander saying he needed to move, and a request to return the deposit at our convenience.
All's well that ends well, I guess. But it was a lot of extra stress and aggravation dealing with these tenant's barely passing acquaintance with reality.
