Buying single family house and renting out current apartment

[Tim Moore]

Hi all, my wife and I had an offer accepted on a single-family home and are going to be renting out our current property. We have a closing date of March 9th but realize that could potentially end up being later. We marketed our current apartment as being available April 1st. We have done all the screening and have found suitable tenants, but I figured we should wait to sign a lease with them until we have officially closed on our new place in early March. If that is what we should do, should I also wait to collect the security and first month's rent until we sign the lease after closing? I am working on sending them an acceptance email, but wasn't sure how to word it all because of our circumstances. Thanks!