I have to admit that the pet thing was a big "a-ha" moment for me.
I have 2 dogs myself, so I always try to be pet friendly, but I wasn't realizing what a huge hinderance it can be to not accept pets. That was until I tried it with this one house. The reason was because the HOA is super strict, and the previous tenants weren't always the best at picking up after their dog. I actually think they were okay, but a neighbor was constantly complaining. The HOA would then check, and only one time did they find that the yard was not picked up. But I decided to just avoid that hassle, and go for pet-free the next time around.
As I noted, I had very little response, and I had dropped the price by $200/month, when previously I would barely advertise it and have people falling over themselves.
So I changed the ad to accept pets, and raised the rent back up, and the phone rang off the hook. So - lesson learned! Especially here in Colorado. So many people have dogs.
I also don't limit the size of the dog. Anyone who knows much about dogs knows that larger dogs are more calm and usually less trouble than small ones. A generalization, I know, but still pretty valid. So one of my tenants actually has a Great Dane - great dog, super calm!
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I kind of feel like I should've moved this conversation to a more appropriate forum. So, I will start perusing the other forums. I'm looking foward to learning and contributing!