Think of 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.

Collect 6 month deposit?    

As a rental agent, I have met shady landlords that kept people's security deposits when denying their applications if they lied about prior evictions. 

Another big one is the ATMs of smaller banks sometimes would not have deposit capability or they claim you can deposit your checks at any ATM in their co-op network.

I am stuck officially and have been for well over a year. Part of the problem is that my spouse and I are completely different pages with our ideas of what properties to search for and go after. This initially started...

Their entire deposit was used for damages. 

If you get written permission from the owner, then perhaps; but if I was the seller I'd want a higher deposit in case you destroyed the house and then bailed on closing.

I would collect a security deposit and first and last months rent as a rule. 

Once you have a list, a broker can run the purchased list along with ones you have through the National Telephone Database to find the best matches for phone numbers and email. 

@Matt Darak Some apartment complexes have a policy allowing tenants to pay a fee to terminate their contract...2 months rent or one month and the deposit