The 3rd party wasn't able to screen the applicant.

So I just rcvd a rental application from Zillow and the credit score is showing 714 which sounds good...

Would love to hear your applications and utilize them within my business.

Pilot a unit or two with this renovation spec and see how much demand you get from QUALIFIED applicants.  

A friend of mine invested in one last year—apartments upstairs, a small coffee shop downstairs - and the combination of income streams made it a steady performer.Scaling with a 1031 Exchange:While not applicable unless you sell a property, planning for a 1031 exchange could help you scale quickly while avoiding capital gains taxes.

Lastly, have you had any applications?

You should ask for that info on their application.

For the nuts and bolts and real-world applications, I would lean on forums like these and studying or talking with other successful investors. 

These are decisions to can make to subtly change the applicants to get and how long you keep a good tenant thereby affecting your vacancy/turnover costs. 5.

What is a good system to create around standardizing rent increases where applicable / best way to communicate it to the tenants?