We didn't want to mess around with a rental agreement and a deposit etc., because it is short term, 30 days or less. 

Some lenders might accept Airbnb/VRBO income reports or bank statements showing rental deposits, but this is less common.

In my financial statement to the tenant concerning the deposit I itemized all the deductions. 

How are people holding security deposits in NC?

It also took me down the rabbit hole of the safety of escrow deposits which seems quite frightening.

You had to looks at and confirm the lease terms (length and cost) as well as security deposits and so on. 

That being said, if it's in the contract but you just didn't deposit it, then you would simply be on the hook for it.Same goes for the end buyer.

The custodian is bypassed and you can make payments and deposits into a checking account owned by the retirement account.  

There are known "aggressive breeds" that constitute a combination of size, temperament, etc. to form this list of aggressive breeds which would theoretically be more of a liability.I also settled on a pet deposit, not a pet fee or pet rent. 

A deposit is standard for DD and maybe to pay for the appraisal.