Rookie question about screening tenants

[Jon Gorman]

Hi All,

First timer here in the process of renting out a house. We've been living in a townhouse for the past 5 years and at the end of August moving into a new home we purchased, planning to rent out our current house. I put it up on Zillow and have received TONS of inquiries. Probably approx. 25 people have contacted me.

I just read Brandon's Tenant Screening Ultimate Guide in this forum--so helpful! I have some remaining questions. I learned from that article that you have to be careful about not discriminating and fully documenting how you are deciding to choose a tenant, and I want to make sure I am doing things as ethically as possible.

I've scheduled tours with about 7 people so far. My plan is (and please weigh in--I am new at this and open to feedback): Give tours to people this Sunday while also interviewing/screening them. Then, ask them to fill out the application that Brandon links to in his article. I'll sort applicants according to variables like income, job stability, etc., then ask "finalists" to Apply through Zillow, which will give me their credit score and criminal background/history. I think the application through Zillow is something like $29. 

If I have a few good applicants left and their references all check out, can I go with my gut? 

Should I develop more criteria? 

Am I allowed to deny someone for no other reason than I chose someone else, or does it have to be based only on objective criteria?

Should I refund their $29 application fee if I've asked them to apply but then I go with someone else?

Thanks so much for any thoughts/feedback/guidance!

Jon