Hi,I would return the deposit fully assuming no damages and this would be required in most states as you weren't actually 'damaged' by the early termination.

I’m having a hard time deciding if I should move forward with the deal or keep renting (currently paying $2200/mo in an apartment, we would have to pay $4k to terminate lease early).

It's a French-based EV battery company that will be establishing a North American HQ in Columbus. 

We also offered for you to exit the lease withoutincurring the lease termination fee which you did not respond to.We will make one more offer to satisfy you.

If not corrected in two weeks, follow through with removing the animal or termination.2.

SFR with an individual owner may be exempt, which means you could possibly terminate the lease.

I’m open to both, short or long-term, in Austin or the surrounding areas (mostly considering San Marcos).

Make sure you check your bylaws to confirm there are no issues renting out your condo as many HOAs have put limitations and other requiremets in place.You'll also need to update your insurance coverage to a landlord policy and make sure you understand any vacancy triggers - many policies will auto-terminate if home vacant more than 30 days.Start researching rental applications and leases ASAP, so you're ready with those when you start advertising.

If it doesn’t meet that criteria, it would just be treated as an early termination request, with whatever penalty is in the lease, and both would have to agree or remain responsible through lease term.

The scammer either:Claims they work for us and our systems are down forcing them to use their cell phone or claims they are the property owner and have terminated us because we couldn't find a tenant for them.They ask for either half a month or a full month of rent upfront, via Venmo, to schedule a MoveIn, but don't really ask for any documentation.These prospects aren't even in our software systems yet and all the correspondence is via text.