Servicemembers that have to relocate due to Military assignment often have to move at a moments notice and uproute their families to move across the world in support of our nations national security. The financial strain that can be put on the family can be massive. Although the military reimbursed for travel and move related expenses there are often times other costs associated with a move that are not reimbursed and/or take a significant amount of time to be reimbursed.

Sometimes it is very beneficial during the relocation process that involves an Overseas move to obtain a short term lease while waiting for military housing to become available or while looking for a more permanent home. Hotels can be very costly and lack laundry facilities and full kitchens to support family members.

Most of the time it is extremely difficult to find a short term lease for a period of 90 days.

At times when a short term lease is found it ends up being a deal that seems too good to be true. But either out of a lack of options or the need to get established the terms are accepted. 

Bell Stonebridge Apartments in Woodbridge, VA offers a short term 90 day lease option for a two bedroom apartment with a no deposit move in. Everything seems great while getting settled. There is a bit more paperwork than usual and it is all online with no real paper copies available.

Once complete and you are signed up expecting a 90 day lease and the ability to just move out at the end you do the right thing and call up the management about a month out to schedule an inspection to turn in the keys and move out. Little do you know this is where the problems start. 

After speaking with an assistant manager over the phone I was told I could not just move out and would not be able to schedule a move out inspection without first submitting a 60 day move out notice in writing. Obviously upset I argued back and forth and then requested to speak with a manager. 

Linda Jones the local Manager got on the line and confirmed I would not be able to move out at the end of my lease and would have to submit a 60 day written notice. I informed her that this was unacceptable and not financially possible. I then informed her I would be moving out regardless on the already agreed upon date and would still need a moveout inspection. She again refused to schedule the moveout inspection and stated to come into the office to work out a solution that would not involve moving out at the end of my lease and would involve more costs than originally agreed upon in the initial lease agreement. Linda the proceeded to explain to me that this was a common problem with the short term leases and most of the leasees did not submit a 60 day notice and usually ended up in the same situation. 

Upset with this response I decided to take it up at a higher level of their management and was contacted by Megan Beaman with Bell Partners Incorporated. Megan informed me that the management teams course of action would be to potentially allow me to move out of my apartment two weeks after my scheduled move out date including a significant cost that was not planned for and not really sustainable. She then informed me that the reasoning for this is because the management teams reach out to their customers and determine if they were moving out and/or extending their lease. I informed her that this did not occur. 

Bottom line the added costs that this Apartment complex is attempting to charge me is not a small amount of money on my current budget and takes food out of my children’s mouths.

If a customer signs up for a 90 day lease and at the time of signing the lease the customer informs the associate overseeing the lease paperwork there is no way the customer will be staying past the lease end date because they own a house in the area and must move back in that there would be no requirement to provide a 60 day notice to move out. 

The management at all levels of this company have informed me on three different occasions that this is a common problem with the short term leases. It is a known issue that they continue to exploit for a profit. 

This needs to be stopped.