This is basically you paying into a bond that will pay damage and lost rents if you are unable to the landlord but this isn't a collective of money pooled together for the common good. 

For hardwood, that will take much longer and I'd bet they'd walk on it or move heavy furniture before the top coat is cured and damage it.

", shows your inexperience.The cashflow numbers for Class C & D properties only look good on paper because few investors plug the correct assumptions into their ROI calculators.Have seen many newbies use a 5% vacancy factor for Class C & D properties with nothing built into their calculations for tenant-nonperformance or the extra damages low-demographic tenants statistically cause.BTW: we recommend using at least a 20% Vacancy+Tenant-nonperformance number.

Does that mean I forfeit any right to make any deductions for damage and must return the whole deposit?

As a Property Manager in a market where many owners choose to manage on their own, I've seen several examples of owners losing their homes or properties because their tenants did not pay or caused excess damage.

My father is in the home improvement bussiness, we just had a hail storm pass through that damaged peoples roofs.

You can even sweeten the pot by telling them they don't have to clean, and you will hand them their deposit on the day of move-out after a 10-minute inspection to verify there are no damages. 

I collect both a security deposit and purchase a damage protection waiver.

Changing the locks and adding security to the home, to ensure he does not vandalize or damage the property.

Im tired of letting tenants bail out with unpaid rent and damages that exceed well past the deposit.