All rents and deposits are payable to and get deposited into that. 

Not bad here in Sac though since everything is online from turning tenant request called RFTA to rent negotiation through email, landlord portal, direct deposit set up.

Ask to see a copy of the lease and look for the length of lease, current rent amount, tenant obligations like paying for utilities and adhering to house rules and look for Landlord obligations like things the landlord may currently being paying for (like trash and water)Make sure to have an assignment of the lease and clear language on the security deposit WITH interest shall be transferred to the new owner at settlement.Consider tenant quality - what’s their payment history looked like, obtain rent receipts or bank statements from the seller to review on-time payment history.

Now to follow that up do I charge another Pet Deposit for the new year?

Here are some of the highlights: quickly set up bank accounts for each property and sub-accounts under those for things like security deposits and CapEx; virtual credit cards tied to each property; quick transfer of funds; ability to send money back and forth to tenants (some platforms are for collection only but won't let you send your refundable deposits back to your tenants); easily categorize every transaction into IRS Schedule E categories for reporting taxes; ability to split transactions; tenant management from vetting to drafting lease agreements to collecting rent.

Consider all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

Then I could keep his/her deposit money and any capital improvements put into the building.

We charge a deposit on direct bookings to offset this risk. 2.

I'd have to double the security deposit, raise the rent by 20%, and double the cleaning fee to even make it worth considering-- which I would if people were willing to pay but the market doesn't support those prices.

Here in NYC you will get laughed at if you ask for a T12 on deals that go into hard deposit immediately.