If you are getting these candidates 2 months in advance of move-in, I think stronger candidates will come along. 

It ican be stronger then I saw the dog on facebook.

That seems to defuse the "professional complainers" - it's not that I'm rejecting them, I'm just taking the stronger applicants.

However if the shared amount is only roughly 1/2 a month, it is pretty clear the agent is being greedy.I think a 2 year commitment is stronger than a 1 year lease, but I think the 3rd year doesn't have a lot of value to the landlord.  

There is always a reason to accept any application over another, one has a higher income, one has a longer employment record, one has a stronger credit profile.  

When I started in real estate in 1990, The Texas Assoc of Realtors lease was 4 pages and now its 16 and basically no stronger or weaker that it was back thenAside from addressing a few issues such as pets, occupants and such all leases basically say one thing :  YOU PAY YOU STAYI think you are overthinking this and incurring unnecessary costs. 

Otherwise, as that number creeps lower, the argument that we have a class of victims of the system, as unpaleteable as victim messages may be, has stronger legs to stand on.

But I know a thorough screening must be done, and this is all just part of a learning experience.On top of that, this was our home for 2 years before we turned it into a rental, so I have a stronger emotional attachment to it then to a property I never lived in.

There are stronger applicants out there and if you keep looking you will find them.

This can be a learning moment for you and can make you stronger and wiser.