I know other landlords here do collect the deposit, but I like to be legal and do things correctly.

In any kind of significant legal dispute, the nice lawyer with the kind face, the low rates, and the gentlemanly manners is not the one you want.

Security deposit amountYou can find plenty of examples by searching for "tenant estoppel certificate doc" or exchange "doc" with "pdf" for more options.Here is an example and explanation: https://eforms.com/rental/estoppel-certificate/Some have a lot of legal jargon but this document does not need to be so detailed.

Sourcing insurance and handling claims Legal suits such as ADA, slip and fall, environmental, etc. 

If you a legal professional, commercial may be right up your alley, but I don't find that you can force appreciation nearly as much as in residential RE.

This isn't legal advice, just my opinion as a real estate investor.

A lot of forum members are very knowledgeable in their respective fields related to real estate investing, whether that is real estate sales, wholesaling, flipping, rentals, lending, self-directed IRA and Solo 401k investing, or tax and legal guidance.Discounts on some products and services are offered to BP members: https://www.biggerpockets.com/perks/proIf you haven’t been to it already, you might want to check out the BP blog: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/The site has quite a few tools that can be helpful for new members.

I need legal help understanding my options.  

Knowing that it is completely legal (to sell a contract to an investor for a greater price point) in almost every state, is it possible to do deals multiple states?

My real estate agent has not heard of this and I’m baffled as to how they can legally add an expense that I do not have.Is this standard practice?