Mina-san, why do you think the movers know the address?

I say the other family left because of the owner’s “requirements” regarding the rent…

You see, the monthly rent is quite cheap.. but it has to be paid out entirely in freshly picked bananas…this explains why there’s also no 礼金、only half-price 敷金, and a very low 仲介手数料. After all, bananas spoil easily, and what would the real estate agent do with 100,000 yen worth of bananas (no 仲介手数料 would be suspiscious, though, so his wife has found a new career selling fruits to her neighbours).

The former tenants were driven mad by the pressure coming from finding 100,000 yen worth of freshly picked bananas in a few days…

The owner’s name starts with a “T”. He (it ?) says “キイイイー!!” a lot…

Kasukabe? Is that a Crayon Shin-Chan reference?

John-san,

That’s right! When I was thinking which city to use for this story, I came up with “Kasukabe” from Crayon Shin-Chan.

A very Roald Dahl-like story . . .

And very useful! I had already passed ~っけ from my grammar list for JLPT, but I totally missed the nuance of the meaning.
ありがとうね