if so do you request a deposit and/or have an agreement that you have them sign?

I also request an interview with the existing tenants before kicking off the background checks.

When people post these and don't get the response they want or have been led to believe wholesaling is glorious, they start getting upset and generally tell everyone "don't need your opinion so get off the thread" or similar after requesting the information. 

Here where I am if a property is just a lot and block and you want an address like 123 Main street you call the borough (we have boroughs instead of counties) and request it. 

But you and your agent would be perfectly reasonable to request one from the seller.

So it's reasonable to request to do an option fee instead of a non-refundable deposit since I have not completed my due diligence as of yet? 

He constantly ignores my request for the building permit.

Can you not accommodate his requested times?

Whenever I'm in negotiations with the request for repairs, I always look at other options so my buyers know the consequences should they fall out of contract.

We got a decent # of requests but our booking rate was about 5-10% of the requests.