As a result, we decided to rent out our old house, which is easy to do in Charlottesville with so many people moving in and out every summer for sabbaticals at the university or one-year placements at the JAG school. … We included very specific information on our expectations for how they would maintain the house and yard while they lived there and also what we expected of them when they moved out — including patching nail holes, thoroughly cleaning the house from top to bottom, and steamcleaning the carpets because they had pets. … There were a few minor repairs needed throughout the year and each time, we decided together whether they would take care of it or we would.  If we were going to take care of the repair, we agreed on a mutually convenient time that we’d come over to handle it. … Yes, the tenants had small children, but so did we when we lived in that house and we can promise you that jam was wiped off the wall shortly after it was left there by toddler fingers.

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