How to manage too many applicants -Zillow Rental Manager

[Boyi Gao]

Hello,

Dear real estate brain trust,

Recently listed a SFH with zillow and its was my first time using them. Within 8 hours of listing it( downtown atlanta) I was overwhelmed with the volume of interest as there was about 25 emails/calls. I picked 10 potential applicants for an open house tour from 1-3 with had planned to take the first completed and qualified application. What ended up happening after the showing was a bidding war and an offer of 3500/month which was 200 more than asking. I had initially planned to select an application from the 10 who had tour the home but I got bombarded with applications from people who didn't tour in attempts to jump the line. Obviously I had underestimate the state of the market plus the reach of zillow and had more applicants than I knew what do with. Any suggestions on how to manage these situations or have experience with zillow rental manager. My landlord preference has been to have a slightly lower rent in order to get the most qualified/responsible tenant to take care of my update class A property.

Thanks