Holding the security deposit in its own account is a very good practice; but also make sure that there is some sort of "continuation" for that account.

There was probably a way to address that in the original life estate document (some sort of time limit for the abandonment).

I am a very flexible time in my life so I am looking for opportunities country wide and not limiting myself have not been this motivated in a long time and I am very excited to learn all that I can to make myself into a better investor and business owner.

Must be some sort of fee or percentage of credit raised.

I sort of inherited it, it was my mother in law's home.

Sorry for the small gooey statement but you should get motivated and find an agent or partner to help you build your wealth!

If things get out of sorts, the lease agreement is what holds true. 

Slightly different angle but I started out as you did, young and motivated.

I attend multiple meetups from Santa Barbara to Thousand Oaks and meet with folks doing all sorts of strategies - House Hack, STR, LTR, Infill Development, Flips etc. 

Once you have the money for the deal sorted then you can start underwriting properties and submitting offers.