They bought some of those small machines where you twist the knob and your candy drops out.

Negotiate with your tenants to either allow you to show the property while they are still in it, even better have them do the showings, and upon finding an ACCEPTABLE replacement tenant, you will let them out of their lease early.If you "sell" this to them gently it's a great solution. 

But my dad who had gently nudged me into what at times felt like a ridiculous endeavor was also super conservative financially and convinced me to finance it on a 15 year loan.

You can twist it and turn it about selling contracts and assignments any way you want, those two facts still remain.

Thanks for posting this.Aloha Berry, thanks for your gentle input...Just to be clear, I absolutely do perform my Own Due Diligence on every property every time.

I left LA for the gentle relaxed Hot Springs area of Arkansas.

I've skipped a lot of the ups and downs, twists and turns. 

If I could do anything different knowing what I know now I'd buy an RV that was gently used...not brand new. :) Let me know if you have additional questions!

Our journey took numerous twists and turns as we tried to figure this out, but one thing we didn't do was give up.

Give them more time than required, and let them know gently.