Once a person tells me they or someone else in their household smokes, I tell them that is a deal breaker for us.

You need a reliable way to search for evictions in your state, deny anybody where any applicant has had even so much as an eviction filed against them and verifiable household income of minimum 3 x's the rent. 

My ad for a little 2nd floor apt states at the end, "please tell us if this rental is far from your work (or source of income), how many folks in your household and if you have any pets."  

I am very fortunate to bring a 3rd salary into the household (and the largest).

I look at demographic data including median household income and school ratings.

No self-respecting, scientific doctor can diagnose the need for an emotional support animal with one 30-minute phone conversation and the swipe of a credit card.The second thing it changes is that they limit them to "animals commonly kept in households" which means we can deny miniature horses, potbelly pigs, turkeys, alligators, and even kangaroos.In a perfect world, there would be a couple more requirements:Treatment. 

I would say the biggest downsides to them is a) they are not handy or experienced at running a household, so they call for every minor little problem b) you end up with a much higher rate of turnover. 

We look for 3x rent for household income (not per individual), or 2.5x with additional security deposit, so these tenants far surpass that.We also allow for an eviction in the past, depending on the situation, when it was, how they have performed since, and whether full restitution was made.

Usually, banks will loan around the amount that would make payments coincide with about 33 to 34 percent of your household income. 

@Jay Hinrichs another reason why I only rent to Section 8 households.