If your lease starts on Aug 1st I think it can be argued it isn't in effect yet and therefore you need to return all of the money. 

An LLC has no great effect that makes your business appear to be an international conglomerate.

I found Assessors cards on microfiche was sufficient to establish the use, prior to the land use regulations taking effect.2.

How do property owners of STR survive when a hurricane or other natural disaster wipes out business for a length of time?

I’m in north jersey so if your using this in Florida or California then you telling us your secrets won’t effect your market. 

I currently own three separate multi family properties and I’m looking to syndicate my next purchase with investors but would like to understand the best effective syndication model that has worked for others with investing in 20 to 40 unit properties.

Another consideration is that most state laws specify "Security Deposit" so naming it something different could have side effects on common law understanding. 

I know there are still many real estate owners out there that are struggling from the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

You could always turn direct book back on if it looked like you were effected.

Recently I applied for pre-approval in order to start looking for small multi-family units to do an owner occupied house hack, I was, unfortunately, denied pre-approval due to my low income.So I had an idea and I was wondering if this is 1) Legal/Feasible 2) Effective/Smart or Not.