Fort More housing inspection" width="621" height="414" />Fort More housing inspection" width="621" height="414" />
Brittany Loy and her soldier husband were moving out of The Villages at Fort Moore, Georgia, this spring as they headed to a new posting in Alaska when they found out they were on the hook for a $2,000 move-out fee. The bill included the cost to replace the air conditioning unit in the home's back yard.
An inspector reportedly found "a small piece of corrosion in the bottom corner of the unit" and blamed the deterioration on the family's male dog, Loy said. She hadn't noticed whether the damage was there when moving in and estimated that at least two other families had lived in the house during the life of the unit.
The full amount to replace it "would have required us to pay $700 out of pocket," which the one-income household "did not have," Loy said in an interview. So she contacted the Military Housing Coalition for help.
Co-founder and CEO of the Military Housing Coalition Heather Hall said the nonprofit didn't have any marketwide data, but after her years as an advocate, she's sensing more instances of military families needing help disputing big move-out fees.
The neighborhood where the Loys lived is part of the Michaels Organization, a real estate development and management company responsible for roughly 18,000 houses at 11 military installations. A spokesperson for the Michaels Organization declined to comment on the fee in question or the company's practices when assessing move-out fees. The company has been in the news over its use of non-disclosure agreements for tenants amid heightened scrutiny over base housing conditions.
Amanda Miller is an editor and writer for Military.com specializing in coverage of military and veteran pay and benefits. She became a journalist in the 1990s, began covering the military in 2007 for Military Times, and has since contributed to a number of military-oriented publications including Military Officer Magazine, The War Horse, and Air & Space Forces Magazine. Read Full Bio
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