Question about bidding rent above listed

[Michael Julian]

Over the last several years, I have used Craigslist to advertise vacancies and have run into an issue in the past , when I have underpriced a unit, there have been people willing to pay more than the listed rent to move up the list for the background check process and possible tenancy. This time around, I listed on Postlets and have had a huge increase in interested potential renters, despite pricing that I thought was competitive to the market (Thanks BP!)

The rental is currently occupied, so I have set a time for an open house and have a dozen people that say they will attend, (I expect half of that number to show up) I keep notes on all inquiries and responses to ads, and generally will consider the earliest inquiry for anyone that fills out an application at the open house.

If someone second or third on the list offer more rent, I am considering presenting the option to those higher on the list to rent at the higher price, but would have to process both applications and make sure they both qualified before doing so. Does this make any sense? Is this a common issue if you have underpriced the market a bit? Is this legal and ethical?

Thanks!