It’s fantastic to hear your journey in real estate investing, especially after such a long history, starting in Washington DC and now reigniting that passion with your wife in Charlotte.

I'm using a service called 'PetScreening' where the tenant fills out an application on their pet (birth date, shots, bite history, etc) and based on the answers given a 'fido score' is given to help the Landlord figure out the risk associated with the pet and the reasons why the score was given.

What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.?

Another period of QE will drop rates to the 3% range for a period.Ultimately, history has shown real estate values to double every 15 years. 

No licensed broker may pay a fee or a commission or any part thereof for performing any act specified in this chapter or as compensation for a referral or as a finder’s fee to any person who is not licensed...The statute in this great state even cites relevant case history.

While the "type" of neighborhood can sometimes make tenant approval criteria a little more flexible, we always try to avoid making desperate decisions that could lead to future evictions.The rise in evictions that you're seeing could be partly due to landlords lowering their standards to fill units quickly, which might lead to issues down the road with tenants who can't pay rent consistently or have a history of instability.

Quote from @Rafael Ramos: I would focus on a newer build in a nicer market with a proven history of appreciation.

I have 15 years of rental and rehab history and I regretted most cheap materials.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

Not much history as of now.