security-deposit awkwardness

[Daniel Miller]

I know that folks on this forum always recommend (rather strongly) requiring a security deposit along with applications for a rental property.  (This is the deposit for the application, *not* the deposit for actually renting the house!) This is supposedly to reimburse the landlord (that would be me) in the event that he puts alot of work into studying an applicant, only to have them say "Oh, I found something elsewhere, nevermind".

However, this deposit has ended up being very awkward in my case.  Prospective renters cannot even contact me unless they have email, I send out the application by email, and I strongly recommend that application and documents are returned by email... but that makes the deposit handling quite awkward... do I want them to pay postage just for that one document??  (not really) or do I go out of my way to meet them somewhere to pick up that check??

I made the mistake of trying to ask a couple of people who were viewing the house, to give me a deposit check at that time, but that went very awkwardly (which I sort of suspected it would).

My inclination is to just drop the application deposit entirely; if they go through the trouble to fill out the application and scan the documents that I require, I suspect that I can treat that is meaningful interest.  In the meantime, the rest of my research doesn't take all that much time, and doesn't cost me anything at all...

Is anyone here horrified by this idea?