Consider all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

I've been doing it since 2015 (including Section 8), and I've yet to have any damage done that exceeded the security deposit.

Now they’re asking for a 10-day, non-refundable $3,000 deposit and earnest money, which makes me hesitant.  

We'll even be making the deposit for the new rental and potentially paying the first months rent.  

We are currently researching a $0 security deposit option for tenants.

If you don’t have enough money for an earnest money deposit than you shouldn’t be doing the deal. 

The cost of stuff today is absurd, especially since we only use licensed and insured vendors who don't require deposits upfront for work. 

note: they do have enough money to cover the first, last, and security deposit

You will have formation costs, earnest deposits, legal bills, due diligence costs, etc that will likely all come out of your pocket initially.  

Deposit a lot of money at a bank you will do business with in Illinois.