We are only allowed to screen non-tenant applicants for criminal and rental history, nothing financially related. 

There are many scammers out there, with histories (criminal and financial) that they are not proud of, trying to raise money.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

, and lease history to name a few.Don't be lulled into complacency by seller financing either.

The others are just pre-screened, not a full application so it's a bit harder to say "you don't meet criteria" because I don't actually have a verified income, credit history or background check - just what they've said in the prescreening questionnaire. 

This could help secure a higher LTV while you build STR rental history.

First he had done over 30 deals and had a history.  

Sometimes it's nice to get a new lease so that you can increase the rent right off the bat, but having tenants with a solid payment history is worth so much more to me.

You only need a place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, etc.

Even if a score doesn't include a history of everything, if it has enough data it should be useful.