Anytime you do a lease option, this is your risk, the tenant can claim "equitable interest" The risk of a claim to equitable interest is due to the option, not repairs, not the amount of option consideration or anything else. 

@Sarah NguyenAnother consideration regarding deposits - Oklahoma law requires you to hold tenant deposits in an escrow account.  

I'll bet it's a major consideration for families (behind safety and school district).

and I'm thinking of taking it into consideration as it might be an easier source of income as opposed to building units and renting them out.I received a rough quote of $2.5M to completely fill the 1.5 Acres with solar panels.

These need to be taken into consideration on short plats such as this sounds to be. 6.

Property Manager has advised its not worth the additional expense which could be considerable.

So you put up $5K consideration for a 90 day option.  

This may change your strategy considerably, so you should explore this topic first.

As long as the financial considerations (rent, utilities, appliances) and ending date are the same, you can change any terms you want to.  

That involves consideration on forming a legal entity that you might have to hire someone to advise you,  figuring out your financing that you pe-qualify for and get a loan letter from the lender that will help you and give the owner a comfort level, and a new business location that is convenient and has minimal distractions.