What’s the application fee?

Sure it works to get your money out, but when you when try to rent the property out, you are sitting with vacancies, low quality applications, and if you try to sell you can't nearly get what the home appraised for. 

I would have them get rid of the application fee.

that’s a good point, so I guess that would only be applicable after the eviction notice has been sent and all of the legal stuff is out-of-the-way?

If the house is nice, it will attract applications. 

You can see how many contacts and applications they've had.

I house hacked before it was called house hacking:) Screened my roommates like any other applicants.

A word of advice, if a tenant seems really needy/chummy in the application process that is how they will be as a neighbor.

Professional tenants target mom and pop landlords with poor screening processes...rather than large class A and B properties with professional screening processes that disqualify most problem applicants...and lots of neighbors who actually pay their bills.  

The city told us that all the owners of the 6 properties had to submit and sign a new subdivision application so that the city could issue permits and turn utilities on for the investors that were requesting it.