California has a lot of special rules that you probably want to look into a CPA who is based in California or at least very familiar with CA tax laws.After 4/17 you can try reaching out to @Logan Allec who is very knowledgeable about real estate and a regular contributor on Bigger Pockets.

The security deposit isnt split in halves .

I'm open to any guidance.I have no idea to secure funds if I have to put some skin in the deal, hopefully, since its, some kind of grant it won't require any money down.

Or keep the 37,500 in regular IRA making lets say 8% for the next 10 years or so and being taxed 25% on 7000 dollar distributions for every year he lives after 60.

What type of security deposits/pets/pet fees?

Most meetups have a group of regular attenders who are great sources of information. 

They routinely chase documents in the final hour instead of upfront and fail to secure the proper paperwork on time. 

This would be the most secure option. 

I read in some books and posts that you need to secure a loan before making an offer so that you'd be ready to pay if your offer is accepted.However, Brandon Turner in his webinars and videos encourages us to make as many offer as possible after working out the right numbers using the BP calculators.

Congrats on getting this deal Harsh.First things first, you should be talking to your attorney and your CPA for legal and tax advise on how to best structure your deal according to what you agree with your partners.That being said, the structure of a deal can take many different shapes and forms and it will vary according to the type of involvement the partners will have in the deal.Are you in charge of putting together the deal, securing debt, managing the operations?