My tenant ended his military contract and is looking to move out, but I would like to formally request his move out date as of Feb 1. 

And what about your corporate formalities?

Many times, I've found that tenants will decide that they would rather not have a formal eviction on their record and pay me the rent.

When you buy,how do you protect your investment, other than the formal agreement? 

If we can't get their attention with a formal notice of noncompliance, contacting their guarantor usually does the trick. 

You want formal milestones, i.e.

Paperwork to be signed is mailed back and forth and we only do our own lease as a formality and an extra chance to go in and check out the apartment to see if we need to fix something.

**"Cash for keys" is a strategy that landlords can use to encourage a tenant to vacate a property without having to go through a formal eviction process.

@Marc ShinI would probably speak to them first on the phone or face-to-face and then send them a formal letter.

I have done a formal inspection with the lease but I give the tenant a checklist to fill out with the least when they move in so they can document anything that is broken or needs repair.