As a Property Manager in a market where many owners choose to manage on their own, I've seen several examples of owners losing their homes or properties because their tenants did not pay or caused excess damage.

Does that mean I forfeit any right to make any deductions for damage and must return the whole deposit?

My father is in the home improvement bussiness, we just had a hail storm pass through that damaged peoples roofs.

You can even sweeten the pot by telling them they don't have to clean, and you will hand them their deposit on the day of move-out after a 10-minute inspection to verify there are no damages. 

Changing the locks and adding security to the home, to ensure he does not vandalize or damage the property.

However, their 38 page Prop Mgmt Agreement for OneRate is daunting--it lists many exclusions to their obligations such as any damage caused by force to a surface (whether from tenants, animals, roots, wind or other force of nature, etc).

Im tired of letting tenants bail out with unpaid rent and damages that exceed well past the deposit. 

Wanted input on how much might be involved here to remediate, and what range of costs I am looking at, I fully understand that once the drywall is cut open there might be who knows how much damage to the framing, insulation, and whether it is worth it to even get involved with this property.

Accepting money at any time doesn’t waive our right to damages, to past or future rent or other sums, or to our continuing with eviction proceedings.

Avoiding Foreclosure: By stepping in with mezzanine debt or preferred equity, investors can help projects avoid foreclosure, which can be more costly and damaging in the long term.