That landlord learned a valuable lesson in having better screening criteria.But, if you guys want to have tenants who will (not "may", WILL) be having less than savory characters at your complex, not respecting your property, and possibly putting your property and other tenants in danger, then that's your choice. 

Of course, it is also possible he knew precisely what he was doing, as folks come in all sizes and character. 

It's just that some vital aspect of our character has changed that values show over substance & appearing bigger than ourselves.

These are cheap fixes that give it a little character. 

Although if it does bother you, you can check their references to have a better idea of their character. 

There is no way like you said to determine someones character in a 5 minute interview for an apartment.They say in the dating world people can put on an act for approximately 90 days before the real them comes out.

Do you really know the character of Tenant A enough to say he is a really good tenant?

Losing a month or two's rent is the least of your problems with this awful character around.

The house has a lot of character and I even leased it to a movie company for 2 months for them to film in!

I was just about to say this, if they can prove they have legal documentation for being in the United States 'temporarily', that is good enough for me to judge their character, since it's hard enough to obtain any type of Visa from a foreign country.