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.

After searching more, I found a few BP post where people seemed to have one account for all deposits, and keep only deposits in there.

Withholding the entire amount of the security deposit doesn’t even cover the costs incurred. 

.* Additional Charges: Jenny requested that I deposit on her checking account an additional $20-25k for her to purchase furniture, which I refused because I thought it was very strange, opting to give my card # instead.* Work Quality: Jenny never showed up to the house, she sent 2 people instead, she never mentioned she would not show up herself, she never asked for approval to send two others instead, they did not complete the job, and there were multiple unauthorized charges on my card.* Receipts and Expenses: Once I brought to Jenny's attention that we were 20k above budget, she refused for days to give me the receipts, saying that I needed to give her my credit card statement first.

If a bank has to pay out 5% to get deposits then they usually want 7% to lend back out or it's not worth their time.  

It is common for rental property investors to feel the pain when a property turns over but keep in mind that is why we retain security deposits for you. 

If you put down an earnest deposit, you might lose out on that if you decide to back out(potentially). look at the agreement.The more important thing is, do you quality for conventional financing?

Just food for thought- It's not always in your best interest to provide all of the materials, negotiate too hard, refuse to pay a deposit, etc.

What do you do to ensure that the tenant is responsible for security deposit disputes since that is the largest reason for owner lawsuitsHow familiar are you with the newly changed laws that can affect you the owner if they are not used correctly?

* What do you do to ensure that the tenant is responsible for security deposit disputes since that is the largest reason for owner lawsuits* How familiar are you with the newly changed laws that can affect you the owner if they are not used correctly?