The goal is to ensure that the property remains viable even if circumstances change, like dealing with a non-paying tenant or a market downturn.

You could put it into a note, after finding a local broker in your area (search for hard money lenders in your local market if you aren't sure where to start). 

Our pet deposit is non-refundable which is what I generally would recommend (assuming your state and local laws allow that).

Go search the topic "Lifestyle Asset University" here on Bigger Pockets and you will see a longer thread with a lot of opinions (most are not members) but still worth a read as there are a half a dozen paid members from our group who have commented on that thread.We were formerly called Lifestyle Asset University, but I didn't realize that you couldn't use the word University in your company name here in Utah so we changed our name to Vodyssey. 

Property taxes-  normally paid in a delayed basis.  

I paid cash for the property two years ago and want to get some of the equity to purchase another property.

Perhaps we "buy" the house from them for the $328K balance to satisfy the lender and don't need a large down payment and then have a separate contract with them to pay $x per month until we've paid the full $172K amount.

Those non-cash expenses definitely helped us out during tax season.2.

So we had a non-paying tenant whose lease wasn't renewed and refused to leave.

I have landlord policies for my rental properties in TX and AL states, but I am not able to get an umbrella policy form my current insurance company, because I do not have car insurance and primary residence in US, as...