Landlords, do you rent your units sight unseen to applicants?

[Mike Wood]

With the power of the internet, I am constantly amazed at the applicants that contact me and want to rent an apartment sight unseen.  Most appear to be from out of town and relocating into my city.  As of right now, I do not allow this for any of my units.  My main concern is that a tenant will focus only on the apartment itself, and not the neighborhood and its local amenities, then show up and realize its not a good fit for them.  All of my units are duplex houses, so I see this as more of an issue than a large apartment complex.

If you regularly rent your units without the applicants seeing the property first, what have your experiences been? Am I missing out on the right tenant, just because I require them (or someone they appoint to see the unit and the area, like a friend or family member)?  I just want to avoid tenants not being completely happy with the unit and the area, and potentially increasing my turnover. 

I am very honest about the photos, and even include a video walk through of each unit when I list my units. I never have any comments about the apartment not being like what is advertised.  My listing are shown on websites like Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, etc, and alot of times I do not put up a for rent sign (mainly due to not wanting to tell every caller about the details and price, as it is rare that a drive by or walk up call leads to a qualified tenant for me). 

All of my units are in B or C areas of New Orleans, and most are on the edge of better areas. Most are in up and coming areas, that are seeing a lot of development (rehabs and new construction).