Looking for a retired couple with handy hands or a young ambitious couple trying to get a start.
I have a house in Jacksonville, FL in the Mandarin area that I am looking to find tenants for for at least one year, but possibly more. I am military stationed in Japan waiting for my turn to retire and enjoy nature. My house in FL is on about 1 acre of property with 4 orange trees (of which 1 has great oranges!). The house is mostly empty with the exception of tools and some cleaning supplies, so you would need to provide your own furniture. Our primary concerns is upkeep of the yard to include keeping vines from destroying parts of the primary structure (or power meter), paying your own utilities, and (in a dream situation), the tenants continue to upkeep and improve the interior of the home. We want the home to be like we left it when we eventually return. The soonest this would be would be in July As military I don't know exact dates, but I am hoping to be stationed overseas until at least July The house could be available the entire time for your use. The home is not yet ready for rent as it needs some paint and misc improvements, but is in a great location. As part of living in the home we would expect you to maintain the 'special cases' of the property (e.g. keeping vines from growing in the power peter), fixing minor repairs, and notifying us of any major repairs so that we can coordination them. As part of the property, we have partial ownership of a spring-fed lake. We used to swim in it and at one point at a stock of koi in it before a river otter decided to have a feast. The lake is very relaxing to watch from our balcony. If you wanted to start a garden on the property we wouldn't have any issues with it - I have been wanting to create a raised garden in parts of the year for a couple years. I have one area that I wouldn't want it (where a driveway should be), but am otherwise flexible to you maintaining the property. There is a small cement slab towards the front of the property that may have been previously used to house a chicken coup. Nothing on it now. The house is about 2k sqft heated/airconditioned and about 3k with balconies and garage. 1 awesome master bedroom with it's own living room and 2 small bedrooms. 2 total living rooms, a screened balcony, an unscreened balcony, and wildlife galore. This is on a private road, so has a nice break from the city, but is also within close range to a grocery store and major highways (you wouldn't know that you were near the city or roads unless you checked a map though).
Most neighbors are laid back and easily to get along with. One would be happy if our yard was a little better maintained.
We would prefer natural care of the yard with minimal or no chemicals as the site water is on a well and runoff would end up in our lake.
We haven't advertised on any sites like this in the past and are worried about legalities in case we end up with 'horror tenants'.
Ultimately, we want the house returned in the same or better condition then we left it & would like the yard to be maintained. Tenants would pay utilities and care for well. (Oh yea, house is on a well).
Even if you are not interested, I am interested in your experiences with this process. Thank you.