Would you rent to this tenant?

[CJ C.]

My leasing agent thinks the applicant is fine and I’m a little hesitant so would greatly appreciate any thoughts.

The property is a nice 3 bed / 2 bath built in the 2000’s in what is probably a B location around Atlanta and is currently renting for $1,100/mo. My current tenant is very solid with way north of 3x income to rent and fairly clean credit but had to move for a job.  Ideally would like to get it rented before the Holidays kick in.

The new applicant we have has good rental history (no evictions, good landlord reference) but pretty bad credit (more than 5 accounts with charge-offs and collections that have just been reported in last 2 months). Their income to rent is a little over 3x including food stamps, but under excluding.  Metrics are definitely below any tenant I’ve rented to before (and lucky for me, as a result I’ve had no issues with any of my tenants).

What are your thoughts - am I being too picky? Also, how long should something like this take to rent? (It’s been about 1 mo and this is the only applicant that has even passed the leasing agent’s screen).