You should make it policy to NOT allow anyone to move in without paying first month's rent in it's entirety PLUS the security deposit. 

Florida has over 1000 people moving in a day, our supply is almost non-existent compared to the past and even condos are giving amazing returns (example: we have a new condo purchased at $270k bringing in $4k a month in short term rental income). 

Plenty of people do not want to move them wen they relocate.

Good luck with this but make sure you dig a little deeper into the project before deciding to move forward. 

We plan to rent out the basement on a medium-term basis - we are going to install a full kitchen down there, put a lockable door between upstairs and downstairs, fence off a private section of the yard, and there is already laundry down there, so it will essentially be an up-down duplex with a separate walkout basement entrance.

Next,3 separate thermostats is a good sign, but you need to ask the inspector how the thermostats are controlling the HVAC.

I know this is not the move...

From closing on the land to move in day is going to be 6 months minimum based on anything I've seen.  

I'm a licensed real estate broker in the Philippines, and I will be moving to California next year.

I worded poorly I happened to put the house for sale after that tenant moved out.