Best practices for security deposit deductions (damages)?

You can bill back to the tenant if they caused them, but they have placed the responsibility on the LL because they're trying to curb the spread and know the property owner is more likely to manage that than a tenant especially in a MFR situation.

In each category, note how much you are bothered or stressed on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 = not bothered at all and 5 = stressed out: Pain Points Stress1 to 5 Pain Points Stress1 to 5 Unit turnover Exterior maintenance Advertising for available units Deferred capital expenditures Tenant screening rules Plumbing or electrical emergencies Tenant selection / discrimination rules Mortgage payments Documenting move-in conditions Bookkeeping and bill paying Documenting ongoing conditions Taxes and insurance premiums Dealing with tenant complaints Risk of late payments or non-payments Dealing with neighbor complaints Risk of property damage or vandalism Mold, termites and rodents Premises liability Interior maintenance Evicting tenants If your completed table has mostly 1s and 2s, then congratulations—you are a happy landlord!

For replacement canoes that got damaged by straight line winds.  

Refinancing  immediately prior to a sale - yes that is a cause for some seasoning. 

And more photos taken, same photos, and extra photos of any damage.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

It appears you are able to hold her responsible to cover damages and lost rent.

. :) To answer your question about legitimacy - how do they get to $125k in damages?

And this caused some deals to experience major distress and/or implode. while others continue to hum along as planned.