A Tennant question in regards to changed rent due date

[Meagan Hubbard]

Ok this will be a long one. My family and I moved into  mobile home in December after our home burned down. The home was offered to us for free through a mutual friend at church. Free for 3 months as we had just lost everything. After the 3 months we began paying rent and signed a 6 month lease. originally rent was set on the first of every month. My husband asked if the rent could be changed to the 15th of each month and they agreed. I asked to amend the lease to state the 15th and they said "don't worry about it". Now they're saying that a lease couldn't be amended. We were a couple of weeks late on rent one time, because my husband was activated and deployed with the ANG. Now late fees are being held over my head that aren't applicable as we were protected under the soldiers and sailors act. 

We wanted to purchase the home and the owners wanted to owner finance it. They then changed their minds 5 days before we were supposed to begin the increased rent to own rate. We couldn't finance the home as it's a 99 year lease and a mobile home. No bank really wanted to touch it and it was a cash only offer. It was also 180K for a mobile home which is retrospect is overpriced. We told them that we were going to purchase another home. They decided to put the home on the market. I busted butt cleaning, packing things away and preparing to stage the home for realtor photos. The home was being shown numerous times per day and I was only getting at the most 1 hours notice of said showings. I kept the house beyond tidy, which without a doubt is a challenge with 3 kids. The home sold while we were still living there. I paid the bills of water and power up to the last day that we were there. I also gave them $100 to cover the 2 days past the 15th that we were there and any power usage that we could have used while moving out like the AC running, lights on ext. I cleaned the house to turn key ready condition. 

We helped paint the entire home, laid sod (and even paid for some of it), stained the deck, repaired the hot tub and did other various maintenance to the home while living there. I purchased landscaping bricks to go around the home, put mulch in the flower beds, removed a ton of debris (old roots and stumps) from the flower beds and manicured the yard to perfection. I even went through before the home was listed and removed all nails (all made by the owner from when they lived there), filled the holes and painted every scratch or mark in the house. 

Most months rent was even paid early. All receipts state 15-15 as the dates covered. There is no notation of any balance due of late fees or 2 weeks rent due. Nothing was even said to me that it was to be paid. I would have gladly paid it or tacked a partial amount on to each months rent until it was paid in full. 

Now all of a sudden I owe $600 past due rent. I just bought a home and don't have it. I'm in college and my husband is the only one working. I feel so torn as they were so good to us in the beginning, but we took immaculate care of the home and even improved it. They sold it for $100,000 more than they paid for it 4 years ago and still want me to cough up $600 tomorrow? They never once mentioned us owing $600. They won't contact my husband, but continue to harass me as to when Ill have a check for them. I even offered to pay the $600 in payments and now they won't respond to me. I don't see how I owe $600, but I would like to continue a friendship with them as their grandkids and my kids enjoy each other's company.