As @Dave Shellenberger  stated, they seem to be taking a page from the playbook of places in the eastern part of PA.  

That phrase could mean several things:  a credit score they don't want damaged by breach of contract or . . . . a first class leasing history they do not want tarnished or . . . the one I like most, having the degree of personal integrity that makes them want to do business in the manner in which they [and I both] agreed. 

West Trenton 1.5 month security deposit and application review of rental history, employment/income verification,eviction and credit checks, etc.

I was fresh out of the Marine Corps.I didn't have a lot of job history, but I did work for a real estate investment company, and my job was to be the acquisitions manager, talking with home sellers about selling their homes.I paid cash for everything.

As long as the tenant has a good history of paying on time and generally not being a problem for you, I would allow it.  

I looked at the owner history and some of those properties and what I've seen in several cases is the following scenario:1.

Keep your debts below 50% of your income and pay them as agreed.Paying any debt early is not the best to establish credit, that is done by using credit and paying as agreed.If you take any loan scheduled to be repaid in 5 years and you pay it off in 6 months, you didn't establish a credit history, you demonstrated the ability to payoff an obligation.

I have worked with tenants that have a history of paying on time, so an occasional issue is understandable.But there are others who will not say anything when they know they won't be paying on time, and expect it will be ok to pay....whenever they feel like it.

My strategy is to charge near the top for the neighborhood and that seems to weed out people just looking for a bargain and people with the worst histories, lowest credit scores, etc.

They are hoping to dazzle the landlord with the large chunk of money, so he doesn't check them out.When I am offered multiple months rent, I know the applicant has miserable credit, no verifiable income, really bad landlord references, a criminal record, is a registered sex offender, or has some other problem with his history that he doesn't want me to look at.The only time I will accept rent in advance is from a verified student who is living on grant money, and then they can pay me for advance months when the grant money arrives (every 3 months, at our local college)