Rental Forms, Tenant Screening, Online Payments + Utilities, etc.

[Eli N.]

Howdy to all the BP folks from Austin, TX! 

I have a few questions related to Rental Forms, Tenant Screening, Automatic Online Payments (site recommendations and setup), Utility payments, so here they are:

1) Can someone point me to where I can download a Texas rental pdf contract to Condo/Apartment/Town-House, that I can also send to a new tenant to complete and sign?  It would be great if all can be completed online with signatures (as it will save a lot of time, as well as paper).  I am hoping the lease will allow me to tweak it a little (example: allowing/disallowing pets, specifying how early in advance to vacate, early termination penalty fees, adding parents as backers to the lease, etc).  

2) What's the best way/website to screen tenants (and specifically students and younger adults) and how can I add another individual (parent probably) to the lease to guarantee timely payments?  Is there a preferred/trusted site where I can run credit-history/criminal-background/employment-verification checks without paying too much?  Are there any other checks I need to account for (not sure if bank-balance is also attainable).

3) How can I setup automatic payments (automatic bank-draft) between the tenant and landlord with reduced fees (as it saves time dealing and cashing checks).  And how much $ deposit do you recommend before move-in?

4) How are utilities (gas, electricity, sewage, water, garbage, energy, etc) handled between tenant turn-over? (Who collects bills?) And do you have to switch them back to your name and then to the new tenant, do you keep them in the first tenant's until the new tenant signs the new new lease, or is there a third option (assuming most of which are not covered through HOA)?

5) Are there any recommendations as to where to post the Condo/Apartment rental property online (besides realtor.com to avoid losing the first rent on realtor fees) - not sure?

6) Any tips you recommend to watch out for (based on your personal experience) and/or are there areas to always consider/account for before a tenant gets a hold of condo/apartment keys?

Thank you all very much and in-advance,
Eli