The stipulation is of course that the money must be returned to the tenant upon move out less damages.I hold security deposits in a trust account on behalf of my property owners but if they decide they want to take possession of those funds then the law says I must do that.

In my experience sellers don’t disclose financials until under contract except maybe a rough pro-forma that I don’t trust anyway.

Trust me, I was in your shoes.

I simply don’t trust their taste. 

Living out of state and trusting everything to a property management company is also a big risk.

Always budget for outside property management and you will usually get what you pay for but keep your focus on new properties and spend most of your time on being income productive.Don't assume on anything until trust is present. 

Feel free to post more info here and people will give their opinions on it.Raising money is about building trust while building your network.Who/what type of people did you reach out to?

@Melvin List oh trust me we did not.

Thanks for your trust in us @Phillip Davis and for helping to keep the BiggerPockets community so awesome! 

I utilize a reputable property manager which I trust, but at the end of the month I feel the return is pretty small.