Through internet search I found out one resident is a registered sex offender - this might explain why rents are higher than average - the owner looked the other way.  

I went with a cop who surveyed the place and found TVs with scratched off serial numbers, a preponderance of sex paraphernalia, and recreational drugs, but no sign of a break in.

@Aaron Nelson - I think I ended up getting like ~15 applications in the first 4 days, of which 8 met the basic criteria I was looking for (income 3X rent, 650+ credit score, no sex offenders). 3 of them eventually submitted an application and I would have rented to any of them without hesitation.After I got that many, I shut down my Craigslist ad and just screened the applicants until I found my best candidates, then went first come-first served.

We get to find out the sex of our firstborn tomorrow, super exciting. :)Baby was being modest and hiding it's bits from the ultrasound machine the last time we went in, so we didn't get to find out.

@Andrew McIntyre  Make sure that you screen for sex offender status, as prospective tenants will often search this database and not rent if there is an offender on the property.  

Housing discrimination is discrimination in which an individual or family is treated unequally when trying to buy, rent, lease, sell or finance a home based on certain characteristics, such as race, class, sex, religion, national origin, and familial status.you said he only gave you a 30 day notice and not the other tenant??  

I'm a counselor (sex therapist) by trade...not a landlord and repairman.  

We put an offer in at $435,000.Later, we came to find average rent is actually $637, includes a HUD tenant ($550), and sex offender.

Neighborhood watch isn't a good sign unless your neighborhood need's it then it's a better than not having a neighborhood watch.Safe officers are assigned to problematic neighborhoods and are super contacts to find out what's going on in area'sCall about how many police calls are in the neighborhood or for direct address before you buy.Check how many registered sex offenders are listed 

It might be location specific, or it might be that the listing agent's marketing isn't up to par (poorly taken photos, or no photos at all, no description, agent didn't click the right buttons on the mls so it didn't post to all the websites, agent non responsive, there might be a registered sex offender next door, etc.)