Rental requirements up front

[Zachary Stein]

Hello! My fiance and I just purchased our first property and look forward to renting it out in the near future. I wanted to get some insight on a few things. 

1. Is it unusual/excessive to require first, last and deposit? I really want to protect our investment and the items that would also be coming with the rental (couch, bed, tables etc..). I plan on screening with rentprep but still, people can be terrible.  

2. I plan on consulting with a lawyer and real estate agent but I want the guidelines for living in the rental very specific when it comes to how/when to pay rent. what happens when it is late. What loses your deposit.. etc.. Is this ridiculous to want to include? Does anyone charge a penalty for late rent?