Why don't the banks simply charge a higher interest rate to secure the business and cover themselves?

An attorney wants to charge me $1000 to look over & make changes to my agreement.

In your case it would be clear that the tenant would be charged to clean out the septic system.

The only logical thing I can think of is if the title company's fees weren't included in the estimates you were given, even then though 4k would still be significant for a title company to charge unless it was a very large loan.

Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.Load a property with pictures and details.Market that property.See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.Run a credit/screening report on yourself.Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, and attach a fake invoice.Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.Sign documents electronically.Run owner reports.After testing a few apps, one should clearly stand out.

You cannot charge one dime more nor a "pet fee" because service animals are NOT pets.If the applicant wants special features such as a wheel chair ramp, etc they MUST install that at THEIR expense and you can require them to bring the property back to its original configuration at the end of the lease at THEIR expense. 

@Shane Baganz   I have most pay by zelle and some on apartments.com,  no charges. 

Should I charge them more rent to take up more space?   

I prefer just and additional “utility charge” and it’s usually close enough and I prefer that convenience. 

But, have a legitimate reason for your price.