Proper Expectations for Low Income Applicants (Chicago)

[Sean Taylor]

My wife and I have purchased our second rental property and this time are working in a lower income area of Chicago (South Shore).  The average household income is around $25k/year and we have our 1-units and studios aggressively priced at $650 / $550 (tenant pays heat) respectively.  

We're currently dealing with a lot of turnover and are trying to better understand how to better qualify Lower Income applicants.  Normally we'd shoot for 600+ credit, 3x rent to income, solid job stability, and no criminal/eviction issues.  I'm starting to wonder if these are reasonable expectations given the demographic of the neighborhood.  In the case they aren't, how do I best set reasonable standards to ensure we're at least targeting the best candidates given the demographic.

Any experienced veterans have some newbie tips on balancing high qualification standards in more challenging economic demographics?