The number you are seeing is probably that lenders judgement amount, but it may be their maximum bid.

It would seem that If I have each applicants profile and I am comparing them like for like and making sure to not make judgements that may violate fair housing and ensuring that I am approving or denying based on facts present in the application and a list of criteria that I have this would give be the best opportunity to select a strong candidate rather than skipping over them because I denied them with no information on what would be presented as the next candidate.

While I still run their credit & background report, I'm looking to see if they have any prior rent collections / judgements, or evictions.

I believe this is true for most folks, am not interested in scrambling to find and risking my judgement on those few providers who go above and beyond, especially far from my home base. 

A lot of comes down to either working with people that have been referred to you and you having knowledge that someone you trust has had a positive experience with them, or doing your due diligence on the contractors portfolio, asking them for multiple references you can call and making your judgement from there.

A percentage of the judgement?  

We made lots of mistakes, mis-judgements, and errors.

It's hard for us to pass judgement on a property manager with a partial picture.

Good points raised above so I won't get into the technicals or make a judgement on your biz plan.Here is my "feel" for the words used in marketing:"Cap Rate" is associated with commercial investment, not so much apartments."

If they left owing money consider suing them in small claims court to collect a judgement.