All occupants and pets contribute to wear and tear on a property, even if no real damage occurs, so the fee structure is more fair and makes more sense than some nominal deposit that you'd have to refund if you can't prove damage anyway.

I ran for years as a sole practitioner In Oregonsales Agent = BrokerBroker = Principal Broker  @Alexander Friedman  there are many brokerages in the PDX market that will simply charge you a nominal transaction fee per deal. you simply need to follow the rules of agency and your good to go.My current brokerage were I hang my license has many investors working with them.. including the owners of the company.

In itself, that leads me to believe this in nominal data (as opposed to "real" inflation adjusted data.)

Bryan, I am sure you know this, but I want to make your statement more complete by qualifying that inflation helps most when you have debt with a fixed nominal interest rate.

The sewer I will be paying for anyway and his part of the water bill will be nominal.

Comparing 'like' homes via home sales is inaccurate, as homes prepped for sale are usually repaired to better condition for selling.Appraisal board members are appointed/nominated by the taxing entities, kind of a conflict if you ask me.  

This is a nominal cost.  

i would like to insulate myself as well as the seller from any risk. sometimes i will be working with another home stager and only supplying the artwork. either way, it would behoove me to have this covered from my end, hopefully nominally as far as price point, to make for a smooth and happy transaction for everyone. i'm trying to build a template which can be utilized for the broad brush strokes of this type of business. are there any other questions i should be asking?

I really enjoy where I live now and plan to live here in retirement, but its the on a nominal basis, the 5th most expensive metro area in the country, and I live in an expensive part of that metro area.

Also remember you want the nominal value of the rental property to, at a minimum, to keep up with inflation and hopefully appreciate in real terms.