I am a woman if my word, but this was offensive and  ridiculous because we hadn't  discussed details. so, at first I was thinking no way I sign this one paragraph agreement with so many holes, but my other option knew was to fight for another month or two (I had called local mediation and they had said it would be 3 weeks before they could meet with us.) this paragraph guaranteed they'd be out by the 20th, and would surrender their deposit...I signed it and they are moving right now. not sure if I did the right thing, but sometimes you gotta compromise some security, and take a chance like this, and I am so glad I did. lesson learned was always assume anyone can turn into a lunatic, so do your paperwork, and keep immaculant records.

Then match that to your personal situation and see which one looks best for you and your market.

As the new owner do I have to honor the lease with no deposit?

Traditional deposit but made in payments;2.

Is the existing owner responsible for returning the deposit?

It is a great software that matches up cabin owners to cleaners and even can handle schedules plus payments. 

Now I dont know what you could rent that for, but off the top of my head, I know that with a 20% deposit, that property wont cash flow, and I can find way better investments with my 20% deposit money. 

@Julio R Gonzalez there are certianly deals on those sites but it takes a massive amount of time and effort to look through them each day, not inlcuding the fact that you have to go through each one in order to see if its a deal or not. i personally prefer the MLS because i can enter my criteria and ill get emails everyday of properties that match

So my capital gains perfectly matches acquisition and construction costs.

I guess he paid $3700 since I kept his deposit.