No, probably not.In FL at least, you can only keep the deposit for the length of time that the property is unrented.However, you've clearly stated that you intend to sell the house (on a public forum no less), so there is no downtime between leases.

If it's a really nice bathroom and kitchen because the area has slightly gentrified, then $12k becomes $20k in short order.)3 months downtime, $250pm extra in rent.

I even looked up the tax collector info on it and it had an icon for unpaid taxes and and a number to call for amounts.I am waiting to see what happens with my first deal before I pull the trigger on anything, but i can't help but do a little research in my down time.  

My instinct was to tell her what I thought and say no, but I decided that the $30K profit I stood to make on the sale of that property was more valuable than my personal feelings about the prospective customer.I wouldn't be as forgiving with someone that I had regular dealings with, though.I always try to have a PC, Kindle, or something else to enable me to be productive during unscheduled downtime, which makes it more bearable when my day doesn't follow the plan I'd set for it.

I am a self-employed contractor and receive many calls during the day but I shut my phone off after hours as people have no respect of time off and I have 4 young kids that I want to spend down time with.

Buying a property that needs renovation is a great way to maximize cash flow and reduce maintenance, but it can be difficult to analyze because you still have to consider your downtime.

Hopefully you'll have some downtime to educate yourself while you're deployed.  

However that's not really fair to my contractor as he does need to provide for his family and I do have down times so I would be willing to share his info with anyone if you want to email me for his number I will be happy to provide it  

That’s why my thought was maybe some sort of my own company so I can schedule my own jobs and work on my houses in the down time.

Just make sure you are prepared to cover any downtime between renters, as well as maintaining reserves for any major appliances going out/needing repair.