Private funding from a relative may provide flexible terms and reduced financial risk, but formal agreements are necessary, and interest paid is deductible for you but taxable for them.Traditional investment property loans offer stability and tax benefits like deductible interest and property taxes but require larger down payments.

(Due to some financial issues with him in the past, I'm not willing to cosign for him)  Would a rental agreement with the roommates suffice? 

Therefore, due to the local jurisdiction, sometimes we choose to mutually terminate the lease and write a new one instead of modifying the original by agreement.

Successful negotiating is not just coming to an agreement. 

back of the napkin or formal agreements?

The lease agreement is quite vague and doesn’t outline responsibilities clearly.

.—(1) Whenever money is deposited or advanced by a tenant on a rental agreement as security for performance of the rental agreement or as advance rent for other than the next immediate rental period, the landlord or the landlord’s agent shall either:(a) Hold the total amount of such money in a separate non-interest-bearing account in a Florida banking institution for the benefit of the tenant or tenants.

More to the point of your post, the agreement of sale should have language detailing precisely how the escrow funds are released to buyer or seller.

The agreement is contingent upon the buyer securing financing which I was not able to do and have provided a denial letter.The seller is requesting money for damages because the appraisal came in at the purchase price but needed a heat installed in the kitchen which the seller agreed to install (Not in writing).

You'll end up in court with a lease agreement that says rent is $1, and the recommended tip is $1,999.