How do I suggest this with no money down, to not lose my deposit if the option is not exercised?

I'm doing a little exercise to determine the CoC and cap rate on my most recent purchase.

This can get complicated because many lenders will exercise the Due on Sale Clause, so to get this type of loan and still get the protection of an LLC, you will need to implement a Land Trust (check out this article for more.)2.

But running an intellectual exercise on the numbers, I think you should be able to figure it out.Essentially, you need to make sure your entire expenses/cashflow is covered in 3-4 months. 

Not only is this an exercise that will have more effect on your life than any real estate investing, but it will train you to be a better investor, as you will learn to take the same approach with your properties (minimize costs, maximize value). 

With only around 5k families exercising their right to school choice it doesn't seem to be used very much. 

All option money is non-refundable and applies to down payment if option is exercised. 

Your situation may differ and I would use all your same criteria (on all parties) and exercise extreme caution....if you are building a pool of applicants, the couple with no documented income would not likely be at the top for me (not sure what the the commission only single salary gig would be, but probably not a front runner in my pools or even meeting minimum criteria)....and you still have to even verify the third party payer would be credit worthy and even interested....

If not we will exercise the other options you guys suggested.

If the buyer has not submitted a "deposit" or "earnest money", they have nothing to lose by not exercising the option.