Suggestions on Tenants

[Andrew Merritt]

Hey All, I purchased my first investment property recently (a duplex in the Charleston, SC area) and I'm trying to rent it out.  I bought it for $175k cash and will get delayed financing on it settled in November (30 years/4.7%).  I'm asking $1,100/side, which is admittedly optimistic, but I've got some decent interest in it.  I will likely be signing the first tenant's lease tomorrow.  I had another tenant interested but she backed out b/c the rent and deposit were too high.  I really wanted her in there b/c she's a cop, so I offered her a discount down to $1025 and no application fee ($25 waived).  She says she can only afford about $975/month.  

The other thing is that she wouldn't be moving in until November first.  I said I could take a holding fee of $500, but that's still too much.

I haven't run her background check yet as she hasn't sent me in all of her info, but I'm wondering if it might be worth it to drop the price down to $975 and waive the holding fee for a young police officer who will in all likelihood be a good asset to have in the duplex.  The house isn't in the best area, but it's nice enough.  There are some rougher houses near by.  

Thanks for your input!