Accept The First Applicant Who Qualifies or Wait for the "Perfect" Tenant?

[Jamie Jones]

Hi BP, I am curious the process others use when screening potential tenants to fill a vacancy (with a standard 12 month lease). I own 4 buy and hold units and have a fixed standard I use that weeds out a lot of folks that don't qualify, i.e. 3x the rent in monthly income, no evictions, min. credit score, etc. 

My question is, do you accept the first person who applies and meets your standards, or give it 5-7 days, let multiple people apply, and then take your pick of the best applicant? 

To give a real world example: I have a couple that applied who qualify and are very interested. Their credit is okay (upper 600s with a few medical collections), and have enough income to qualify - although he is starting a new job soon so there is always a bit of uncertainty there. They also have a Great Dane, which makes me a bit nervous, just due to their enormous size. However, I feel as if I can't not accept them due to the dog, because the tenant in the other unit (this is a duplex) has a dog as well - not as big, but also not a "small" dog. About 24 hours after they applied, I talked to another lead who wants to apply, who has a 780+ credit score, is a nurse with more stable income, lives alone, and has no pets. 

So, should I (or am I legally obligated to) accept the first applicants who applied and meet my minimum standards, are wait a week, get multiple applicants, and cherry pick the best one? I also don't want to lead people on and get their hopes up. This is people's home and livelihood, and it is not something that I take lightly, but also want to pick the best tenant possible that will pay and take care of my property. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!