Sullivan's Island, SC - an experiment that failed

It was difficult to leave Asheville. We had met so many great people and had a genuine connection with the place as a whole. But we were also excited to see what the interviews in the Charleston area would be like.

Maybe that excitement is what makes our disappointment in the place we rented so deep. We had decided upon a house rental in Mount Pleasant; it was right on a waterway and looked lovely. But the owner decided he would be home during February after all and the realtor who was brokering the deal suggested another place on Sullivan's Island. It's owned by her ex, who would be away and this would be his first time renting. We were sent a couple photos, told that the island was a quiet, casual getaway and thought it was worth a shot. A contract was signed, money was sent and that was that.

Well, we arrived to find a house that felt like the owner had just stepped out and would be returning at any time. In other words: not in shape for renters. Greg & I have been on both sides of the rental game. We remove all personal items (clothing, toiletries, etc.) and things that we don't want the renters to use. The fridge is stocked with condiments and sometimes beer, wine, and other non-perishable items. The pantry also has some basics: sugar, flour, spices, soups, etc.

Here, one of the bedrooms was filled with the owners' clothing. The closet was stuffed. I don't think anyone would have felt comfortable sleeping there. The second bedroom was all right, but it didn't have a dresser. The third bedroom was the nicest - it had both a dresser and an empty closet.

The bathrooms were another story. The floors were stained, personal items were left in each. I don't really want to use a sink where a person I don't know left a toothbrush or an electric razor or a woman's bathing suit is drying on the shower or used towels are hanging. To me, this is not "renter ready." There are a couple rooms that are pretty much empty, so I'm not sure why the owner didn't put his stuff in either of those. The kitchen was dingy and he didn't leave any cabinet space for us to put our own food. It looked like it could use a good scrubbing from top to bottom.

The temperature outside dropped last night and the heat only got up to 58 degrees. The house is on a busy road that's more like a highway than a boulevard. So much for a quiet getaway!

We barely slept on our first night because it felt so awkward to be here. I called the realtor, who told me to call the owner. Greg talked to the owner the next day. At first he said he felt so bad that he didn't really want to charge us anything. We said we wanted to leave after only two weeks and asked if he'd consider refunding us half our money. We weren't looking for something for nothing here and never asked for a full refund. He took a day to think it over.

Well, no matter how "sorry" he says he feels about the situation, he doesn't want to give us a single cent back. As for the heat, he said that we should be used to cold weather since we're from Wisconsin! Uh, we heat our houses in Wisconsin, Mister! We were the guinea pigs for his rental experiment and rather than try to work it out he just wants to take ALL our money. He offered us a couple weeks in the summer, but we have no plans to return to this area. And we'd certainly wouldn't want to stay on such a busy road!

I'm not sure I understand how this guy is going to sleep at night knowing that he took ALL our rental money and that we'll be leaving after LESS THAN A WEEK because his house was not in good shape. It'd be easier to take if he stopped acting like he was "so sorry that it didn't work out" and just said "too bad!"

It makes me sick to be here. Can't wait to leave!