The first who promised I wouldn't have to do any maintenance since he was a handyman often "forgot" to pay, sneaked a roofing work crew into the house, left things torn up and left abruptly.

This could help weed out any of the unscrupulous folks who could easily disappear into the woodwork if a problem arises.

Savvy tenants aren't going to just believe you when you say it will be cleaned and painted and in pristine condition and available on the day it's supposed to be - when they are stepping over someone dirty laundry.And, they won't feel comfortable looking inside closets or the garage, etc.And, there's the potential liability of your current tenant claiming some expensive jewelry disappeared during your walk-throughs.I know the idea of having to eat a month's rent in-between tenants hurts, but I truly believe you get better tenants, who will not be as likely to cost you in problems, if you clear out the last one, get the unit in beautiful show condition, then start showing it.  

He got off the phone rather abruptly  and said he was going to check out some other places and get back to me.  

A ton of "applicants" just never fill out the application once they know it will be followed by a background and credit check -- they just disappear.

The city faced a major PR issue when Super Bowl 50 was held there in 2016 (with a world audience watching) and solved it by telling its homeless population to disappear during the event (which it did).Super Bowl 50 Further Divides San Franciscohttps://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/05/us/super-bowl-50-further-divides-san-francisco.htmlPensacola has its own homeless population to deal with (based on the local news stories), although much of it is behind the scenes and not out in public.

We may see some of them disappear. 

We had a rental that was going to be vacant for 2 weeks, so we let him stay there.The day before closing he disappeared and stopped answering his phone.

My first job out of college had a match but I didn't see a dime of it because I left after a year.For my goals, I contribute to a 401k so that if my real estate investing fails miserably, my retirement fund doesn't disappear with that.

Sure, we can sue for the back rent, but we all know that a tenant with nothing to lose can simply disappear without much trace.