It is not  optimal for long term debt. 

And they still owed me 200 dollars so I “reminded” them to pay again and I’ll be up there on Thursday to collect.

@Matthew Wright you're going to have a hard time doing this.Currently, you are bypassing a LOT of regulation requirements by letting the prospects pay the 3rd party directly.If you want to collect Application Fees, you will need to take on all the responsibilities & corresponding liabilities of Fair Credit Reporting Act and Data Privacy regulations. 

What app do you recommend to screen for tenants and collect rent?

At HIS Capital, we collect payment for third-party services such as appraisals, background checks, and credit reports.

My gut response is for us to sell at 2 year mark and collect the equity (tax free).

If they refuse to pay, send them to collections.

Siblings had been taken by the state, parents collecting their welfare checks.

Make sure you have copies of the leases and applications, and that you get the security deposits transferred over to you at closing, and the rents collected for the closing months should also be prorated and credited to you.  

I would be thrilled to explore potential collaboration opportunities, share knowledge, and learn from your collective experiences.