No offense but you live in South Carolina.  

and there was that guy in Denver who got in a huge amount of legal trouble maybe even criminal unleashing thousands of  people with his guru course..

Verify previous landlord, verify employment, check local criminal court records for their name. 

Ok, so I don't have all the specifics yet on how it works - and if someone does, please post here - but as of Monday there will be a process for verification of emotional support/service animals in Tennessee, and criminal penalties for lying about it. 

He would have to clear a separate occupant screening that looked at any criminal history and any issues with not taking care of prior rentals.

I don’t agree with holding past criminal offenses against people forever.

Jack In my rental ads I state for the potential tenant to respond with their monthly income, credit score and whether or not he/she has been evicted in the past. 95% of the time I have to ask the tenant for this information, though sites like Zillow Rental Manager are nice because they sometimes include this information (yearly income and credit score) when the tenant contacts you (of course, always get a criminal and credit check to confirm).I've never asked for pay stubs, etc. prior to the tenant looking at the apartment - I usually request that paperwork with the filled-out rental application (I hand them the rental application if they indicate they're interested in renting). 

@William Riley No offense but thats not really bringing value.

As @Christopher Phillips writes, showing before receiving applications is the normal process.I suggest giving your potential applicants specific criteria they must meet for consideration: income requirements, credit report, eviction/criminal history, pets/no pets, and so on.

@Mar Tell Dennis No offense but you should probably know the answers to these questions before you start going on appointments and meeting with sellers.