Which tenant would you choose?

[Kelly Bellini]

My husband and I just finished up the renovation of our first investment property, which we'll be using as a rental.  Our dilemma is choosing between two couples we met today.  Please help us!!!  Keep in mind, this house is located in a rural/suburban small town in Georgia.  It's a 3bd/2ba, 1500 sq. ft. house, built in 2005, 1.5 acres of flat land.  House is worth 135,000.  Rent will be $1200.

Applicant 1:  28 year old male, works as foreman at sandblasting company, earns $6000/mo, doesn't have much credit, credit score is 530-ish.  23 year old female, stay at home mom to their 2 year old daughter, female will start nursing school soon, she says, she has no credit history.  Together, they currently pay their landlord $500/mo.  They are engaged.  They were very nice people (part of why making the decision sucks!).

Applicant 2:  21 year old male, insurance salesman, college-educated, earns $4000/mo, 3-4 open credit cards/student loans, all paid on time for the last 2 years, 1 cell phone bill ($500) that went to collections.  21 year old female, works full time as a tech at hospital while attending nursing school, earns $1800/mo, 3-4 open credit items, all paid on time for the last 2 years, 1 medical bill ($160) that went to collections.  They currently pay landlord $1100/mo.  They have a dog, and agreed to pay the extra security deposit.  They are not married, and they were also really great people.

I'm going to verify employment and landlord info tomorrow.  What would you guys do???  I didn't realize how much I would hate making decisions about who to rent to.