What would you do with this applicant?

[Ann Bellamy]

I am an experienced landlord, not a newbie, but I came across a situation that I thought I'd put out there for feedback. I want to know what you'd do and why in this situation. I don't really need basic lessons in screening tenants, just looking for perhaps a perspective I haven't thought of.

I have multiple applicants for 2 apartments, 8 applicants altogether, and 5 of them have credit scores 700-749, 1 of them has credit score 750-799.

One of the applicants with a credit score of 700-749 was the first applicant.
She has excellent job references and qualifies income-wise for the apartment but barely.
She will be going from $200/mo with a roommate, to $675 for a small 1BR apt, so it's a big jump.
She has no pets and seems very nice, is respectful and quiet.
She is a naturalized US citizen.
She works two jobs to pay her way and was going to school for accounting. I have a lot of respect for people who have a rough road and keep going and overcoming obstacles.

Here is the rub: sometime in the next 6 - 12 months, she is expecting her husband, who is in Haiti, to get his visa and join her. He will then need to learn the language, then get a job. Once he gets a job, she can quit one of her jobs and go back to school for accounting.

The apartment is only 500 SF and has never been occupied by more than 1 person.

My policy is I don't rent to people who I don't meet and approve through the normal application process. Certainly I know that once her husband gets his visa, (who knows when) then he will be arriving and expecting to occupy the apartment. I have explained to her that I don't rent to people who I haven't met and approved their application, and she agreed to that, but the reality is, once he's here, he's here. I have no reason to think anything negative about him, I simply haven't met him, and he'll have no job.

Who would rent to her, and why, and who would not, and why?

Thanks for your perspectives.

PS: The unit is in NH and eviction is about 45 days.