The agreement I signed with the real-estate (property management company) says the Broker will maintain security deposits received from tenants in a trust account and will account to the tenants for the security deposits. 

This seems like a red flag to me, and potential sign of a problematic tenant.

Then they only need 7 days for an appraisal and final approval of the loan applied to the selected property.Some other approaches that we have had success with is Driving for Dollars, seeking out as-is properties, and properties that have been on the market for 30 days or more.

They don't have to be a partner nor have equity for a lender to sign-off on management."

When you sell a house and you receive several offers you can select the offer that you view as the best.

Question is: should we execute cash-out refi AHEAD of renter signing lease or AFTER?

The seller-like many in this market-have their eyes filled with dollar signs and can no longer see reality.

I prefer to do business with those who know ther crafts instead of those pretending to know it all by showing signs of “grandeurism” just because they have a college degree.

Bad debt shows a sign of financial weakness in a individual. 

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