A deficiency has to come from a court but the lender can indeed pursue it through court and get a deficiency judgement against you personally and pursue collections if it comes to that.Any residential loan from a bank or conventional mortgage lender will have this option.

Regardless of who would win in court, if we decided to return their security deposit, I don't trust that they wouldn't come back and sue at a later date for hospital bills and rent they believe is owed to them.

I suggest you take them to court ASAP...

I am pretty sure they are going to take us to small claims court because their claim is it wasn't there or it is the cable companies problem.

If you can't figure it out, talk to your lawyer (who may draft a binder-like agreement;) or visit small claims court to see how judges apply your state law.

As a previous writer said, the death of tenants in comparison to the cost (and alleged liability- although I find it hard to believe any court would condone improper use of an emergency fire ladder by faulting a landlord) of a fire ladder is something that may be a problem for 1. legal liability, and 2.

Go to the clerk of court-official records search-link below- put in CC Holdings name and you'll see all the doc.s.  

I know someone who hired a "professional" who found them a well established professional tenant who had a track record of paying 1-2 months rent and then living free 2-3 years while fighting evictions in court with every trick in the book, all because this professional leasing agent didn't do any background checks. 

Do I get the contract notarized than go down to the county court house or can I just take the signed agreement as is and file it that way?

Between the court date and the day that the court office came to evict her, she did me a favor by robbing a nail salon and getting thrown in jail.