I immediately got suspicious and retained these papers.

This will retain 90% of visitors to the website.

I wanted to retain as much cash as possible, while still getting into my desired neighborhood How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

You could then sign a retainer with said attorney who handles the rest of the process (title searches, filing fees, etc.).

Your grandmother should retain ownership and pass it onto you to benefit for the step-up in basis, avoiding a significant tax burden upon its sale, especially if she isn't already liable for estate tax.

They are like two different muscle groups, so why spend years working out your legs if your goal is to have big arms?

In most seller financing deals, the buyer takes ownership of the property immediately upon closing, but the seller retains a lien on the property until the loan is fully paid off.

Common fees will include a set-up fee, a leasing fee for each turnover or a lease renewal fee, marking up maintenance, retaining late fees, and more.

I wanted to put the property into an LLC or Corp to limit liabilities once converted into a short term rental and wanted to retain to retain the 121 exclusion benefit. there is probably $350k+ of potential capital gains on the property. 

@Brian Malavsky We actually have an attorney drafted lease that states the following "If the Landlord maintains the Deposit in an interest-bearing bank account, Resident consents to Landlord retaining the interest, except as required by law."