Overall the house was the correct size and configuration for our family event; however, the overall house was in a poor condition, unacceptably maintained, and cleaned. The kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms and the outside property were not appropriately cleaned prior to our arrival. The bedding, mattresses, sheets, and towels in each of the rooms were of poor quality, broken, inadequate, or not clean. The house and property were not in an acceptable condition to be rented to us.
We pointed out our issues to David, the property manager, who essentially admitted that we were correct in our feeling that the property was not in acceptable condition. However, the property manager was unwilling or unable to correct the issues and essentially told us to take it or leave it. Since we were already financially committed to the house and had several family members traveling from out of town for our family Thanksgiving event, we had no other choice but to try to make the best of this bad situation.
We had to get the house in a sufficiently clean condition before we could unpack clothing, food, etc. As a result, we purchased cleaning supplies and cleaned the entire house ourselves. We spent the first rental day cleaning the house and property so that it would be usable for our family event. Our family cleaned the kitchen floors/counters, oven, refrigerator, bathrooms, vacuuming all of the rugs, dusting all of the furniture, washed or replaced all the bedding, wiped down the outdoor furniture, cleaned the outdoor bar, etc.
1. The bathroom toilets, sinks, showers, and tubs were filthy.
2. The refrigerator, oven, and stove were nasty.
3. Bugs were found throughout the house (living and dead).
4. The bedding throughout the house was dirty.
5. The mattresses were old, sagging, and unfit for sleeping. Some bedrooms contained broken bed frames.
6. The outside property was not cleaned and contained duck/bird feces on the deck, driveway, outside furniture and fishing dock.
7. The security gate would not lock.
8. The kitchen and laundry hot and cold water labels were reversed.
9. Several light bulbs were missing or broken.
Although we purchased property damage insurance, we were asked to provide an additional large deposit to cover any damages before we could take possession of the property. We had several conversations with the property manager prior to our arrival and the additional deposit had never been discussed nor was it listed in our initial contract.
