There are legal reasons for all of these decisions.

It’s one of the reasons I like this market—there’s flexibility to pivot between STR and LTR depending on what works best

Because Zelle requires more data entry I would explain with the new lease there will be a small and reasonable processing fee if the tenant kept with zelle but they can still use it.

Maybe you get it done easy enough some times, but then other guests won't sign it because ... they're lazy, they're unsure why you're doing something separate from Airbnb, for any number of reasons. 

There's usually a good reason why the entry points are lower.

It's crucial that this allocation is reasonable and well-documented to withstand IRS scrutiny.

Does that amount seem reasonable?

The reason why is because the following.WHAT exactly is an Earnest deposit?

In the lease termination, state the legal reason (compliant to Ab1482) for the lease termination and also state the that they will be provided one month rent at move out (AB1482 dives allow for GP forgiving the last month’s rent, but this has more risk in condition tenant does not vacate).

The bad ones will want 50% upfront, you'll have to plead for update pics, they'll find reasons to increase their initial bids (multiple times) and will want final payment before meeting you for final walk-thru.Many investor-friendly agents have NEVER owned a rental, so you can't really rely on their advice.