"I don't deal with helicopter parents" - Love this, excellent idea to have all communication flow through the actual occupants.

-How long is the hold period, what would the seller/you be putting in with cash if any-What is the % of equity gained -Can any party get out early-What the risks, and who has rights to the deal

@John Thedford good idea.

Some HOAs will limit the units that can be rented ...connect with a condo specialist  realtor and you should get a good idea of whats possible ...if you will need a loan - get pre approved ...loan pricing for a 2nd home is  similar to pricing for a rental property

@Tabitha Price great idea to explore this!  

(Presumably, the answer is 'yes', otherwise why hold the deposit in escrow?)

I would call some local leasing brokers in your area before you have any non-refundable earnest money to get an idea of the tenant demand for something like this and if you are new to retail leasing/investments I would highly recommend you hire one of those brokers to negotiate the lease for you.

The plan is to hold it long enough to see appreciation do it's thing AND in time we have the option to turn it into an entire house airbnb or even a long term rental for passiveness sake.

But until it gets to the appropriate time to actually make those decisions it's nothing you can hold them to. 

Investment Info:Single-family residence buy & hold investment.