Screening tenants & setting up a hassle free lease

[Ben Kirchner]

I just closed on my first rental property.  I'm now in the process of finding a tenant.  Being completely new to this, I've just done some reading, but still have some questions.  Any advice on a couple things would be greatly appreciated.

Pre-screening:

So the property is a 40 minute drive with no traffic, and much longer if it's rush hour traffic.  Therefore, I'm trying not to have to make the haul out to the property over and over, if I'm not even sure if the person pre-qualifies.  No one wants to fill out an application before they even see the place.  Therefore, perhaps there's a list of questions I need to ask when I'm talking to these people on the phone?  What methods do experience landlords use to pre-qualify applicants?  What questions do you ask and verify before the initial showing of the property?

Also - what sources would one recommend for a rental application and lease?  Right now, I've been using ezlandlord.com.  If I send a potential tenant an application, they have to register on the site to fill it out.  Another thing a potential tenant will not want to be bothered with before ever seeing the property.  

Setting up a hassle free landlord experience:

I, like everyone else, do not want to have to worry about calls in the middle of the night when minor problems arise.  A former client of mine who has rental properties in other states once told me that he avoids this by setting it up in the lease.  He said that he includes a list of venders/service people for the tenant to contact with a plumbing problem, electric problem, etc...  These are companies he trusts.  He has a receipt sent to him, and has the tenant take that amount off the next month's rent.  Also, he said he has something in the lease written that says any minor repair needed for $25 or less, it is to be covered by the tenant, which saves them a handful of head aches.  I think this is smart, but haven't heard of other people doing this before.  Unfortunately, I'm not often in touch with that client anymore.  Does anyone have something like this in place, where they aren't being bothered and tasked by anything that comes up in their rental properties?

Thanks for any help!