But don't worry won't be here for ever!  

The question is how long do I have to wait before claiming the deposit as income or do I have to keep it in my security deposit bank account forever until he contacts me given the circumstances?

One thing i can say is business brands come and go but your personal brand is forever.

Ok to be fair there are some markets (NYC maybe NJ I personally don’t know the market in the latter) but I can see the value in vertical living and owning your own personal space rather than renting forever.

Essentially, if your rental activity is passive, the losses are not lost forever. 

Quote from @Tony Davis: So look for recently divorced, death, etc.divorces are difficult because they can take forever to dispose of property and sometimes the property is not disposed of.

So Drew, are you saying that once the property has been in your name and then transferred back into the LLC that it will forever be associated with you personally? 

Once something like that happens it is public record forever!

Will you live in that duplex "forever?" 

If borrowers were entitled to actual notice of foreclosure they would simply hide forever.