She left on day 26 of a 90 day lease, which my own lease let her do
First furnished unit, a 2 bedroom condo I bought last year and switched over from unfurnished. This is the part I got wrong and it wasn't the furniture or the pricing.
I listed at $3,000 a month, all utilities and wifi included, 30 day minimum. A traveling therapist booked 90 days starting in June. I was thrilled. I used a lease a friend sent me that he uses for the same kind of tenant, and it had a clause saying the term ends if the tenant's work assignment is cancelled or shortened, with 7 days notice. I read that clause. I did not think about what it meant, because in my head the tenant leaving early was a problem tenants have, not a problem I have.
Her assignment got cut on day 19. She gave notice, paid through day 26, and left the place clean. Nothing about her behavior was wrong. She did exactly what the paper said she could do.
So I collected $2,600 instead of $9,000, and then the unit sat 39 days in the middle of summer, with me paying the electric because I'd built the listing around all-in pricing. That was $410 and $455 for two months of an empty air conditioned condo. Add the relist and one weekend of my time cleaning again.
Call the whole thing about $3,900 worse than the plan for that quarter.
What I'd do differently. I'd read the early termination clause as my clause instead of hers, and either shorten the notice window or ask for something in exchange for it, since these tenants do get cancelled and a hard 90 day commitment isn't always realistic. I'd also cap the utility allowance in the listing instead of writing all-inclusive with no ceiling. And I'd stop borrowing leases from friends, since landlord-tenant rules differ by state and his state isn't mine. An attorney looking at it for an hour would have cost less than the electric bill did.