Try this scenario:You offer for sale w/o a contract or titlea buyer makes the as-is offer all cash for your priceyou accept and take the Earnest Money Deposit (forming a legal contract)30 days later, you still can't get the property under contractThe buyer now sues for Specific Performance (aka forcing the purchase) but you don't have the contract or title.That's FRAUD buddy.

Never pay deposits upfront for materials and non-completed work.

So I have control of my apartment and am working on turning it over.Downside is that the previous owner was not very good at keep up their property, and there's enough tenant damage that the security deposit is only going to cover about 1/3 of the repair costs.  

If it looks trashy when you get it back in 4 months, then you can take it off their security deposit and have freshly mulched/mowed areas for the new people.

Many could care less when they are staying rent free on a mortgage they are not paying to get 3k to move when security deposit, advanced rent at new place, and moving costs in an expensive area could cost tens of thousands to move. 

@Samantha Klein what about her deposit?

The ACH deposit was pulled back 19 days after it hit my account (which was the 24th of the month).

I have one months security deposit and no damage to the unit that will go toward unpaid rent.

Collect any deposit in an installment method if you don't have any in place ... 

I use cozy.co for my applicationsI also suggest you get Brandon Turner's book on managing rental properties- there are sample leases, move in inspection forms, deposit to hold agreements, and a bunch of other useful forms that come along with the bookI put my rentals up on Zillow Rental Manager and Craigslist and usually get a ton of interest.