If the prospective tenant has a realtor/agent, do I need to pay them?

Your not being able to put a link on your own marketing for prospective applicants is ridiculous.

@Josh Milewski Yeah, or ask the landlord to be up front with the tenant.....or something else - like have the landlord tell the renters that he was having an agent stop by to write up a BPO - which is different than having a prospective buyer come snooping around.

They are properties circulated to long lists of unsophisticated buyers and if you are the highest offer you’ve likely outbid a bunch of prospective buyers who underestimated their improvement costs or overestimated their ARV while most likely  proceeding without the ability to perform normal transaction diligence.

(vii) would seem to indicate that you'd be acting as an unlicensed broker.(1) "Broker":(A) means a person who, in exchange for a commission or other valuable consideration or with the expectation of receiving a commission or other valuable consideration, performs for another person one of the following acts:(i) sells, exchanges, purchases, or leases real estate;(ii) offers to sell, exchange, purchase, or lease real estate;(iii) negotiates or attempts to negotiate the listing, sale, exchange, purchase, or lease of real estate;(iv) lists or offers, attempts, or agrees to list real estate for sale, lease, or exchange;(v) auctions or offers, attempts, or agrees to auction real estate;(vi) deals in options on real estate, including a lease to purchase or buying, selling, or offering to buy or sell options on real estate;(vii) aids or offers or attempts to aid in locating or obtaining real estate for purchase or lease;(viii) procures or assists in procuring a prospect to effect the sale, exchange, or lease of real estate;(ix) procures or assists in procuring property to effect the sale, exchange, or lease of real estate;(x) controls the acceptance or deposit of rent from a resident of a single-family residential real property unit;(xi) provides a written analysis, opinion, or conclusion relating to the estimated price of real property if the analysis, opinion, or conclusion:(a) is not referred to as an appraisal;(b) is provided in the ordinary course of the person's business; and(c) is related to the actual or potential management, acquisition, disposition, or encumbrance of an interest in real property; or(xii) advises or offers advice to an owner of real estate concerning the negotiation or completion of a short sale; and

I just had a prospective client tell me that he was willing to pay 3 extra points to get to 5.99% at a 5YR PPP.

"Under the provisions of Section 1101.002(1)(A)(ix) and (x) of the Real Estate License Act a person making a referral of prospects or property for the sale or rental of real estate must be licensed under the act if the referral is done with the expectation of receiving valuable consideration.

Hold firm.If you get nervous, drop the rent $100 per month or confirm your marketing is good.You do limit the prospective tenant base by restricting pets, but that is your prerogative.

I would, if possible, shadow him on prospecting drives.  

There is absolutely no way to organize your prospects or leads except with "tags" but they even specifically say you shouldn't be tagging people with more than 1-2 tags.