It's a great way to learn in real life and off the screen.

Definitely check their ID (FB is full of fake profiles) and screen thoroughly.... many, many scams out there right now. 

The heavy cleaning and repair costs after longer stays are definitely pain points but I've seen my clients make it work by screening the tenants more carefully for MTRs, doing bi-monthly checks to catch issues early, and writing clear lease terms about maintaining the property.

Our renters were great, emphasizing tenant screening process, and returned the home in great condition.

Ask them for their average rents and vacancy times (broken down by number of bedrooms).

You should be have experience vetting and screening.  

I used furnished finder and keycheck to find tenants, screen them, and collect rent/security deposits. 

What is your process for screening pets?

Unfortunately, appears you've gotten exactly what you deserved due to your poor screening.Hopefully, you've learned from this painful lesson.Hire a well-screened landlord-tenant attorney and evict them and sue for damages.

Now to address the ESA…  have an ESA policy.  1) use petscreening.com to screen out bogus ESAs.