That’s more about screening and your rental criteria (credit score etc) than about the fee. 

You have your loan, credit, finance information.You can use your credit card to pay for repairs.

I don't have great credit and it will be my first home purchase.

I had luck with local banks and credit unions.

Can anyone tell me how this might effect my personal credit.

Her home was flooded estimated 80k in damages.

Are you doing full background and credit checks on new tenants?

If you think about it, the PM is required to do the move out inspection, record damages, and return the security deposit within 30 days (your state may require something different).

If they are the best you can do is pay enough that they can come up with the rest and don't completely destroy their credit. 

This might still be a lot for applicants in a C-class neighborhood, but it will be much less work for both of you if they can do it online (again, assuming they have access to a computer and a debit or credit card).