All the students were allowed to be extras.

If they are willing to share that info with you, that "secret" is no longer a secret to you, just to those who don't have the info or knowledge.I think that there are pieces of information you could get from a respected guru (if there is such a thing) but the most important factor in my mind is how you as the student are capable and willing to apply that knowledge in the business!

I deal with all students so I prefer year long leases.

As a med student i had no income. 

I'm a 63 year old doctor and a student of BP and RE investing but little practice.

What areas are students most interested in?

The next may be one of the largest debt sectors in our economy - student loans (who would have thought!).  

Obviously, there are complications in this too, as students can, at times, be destructive to a property; however, I doubt they would steal the copper piping or do anything deleterious to that extent (you never know, though). 

My wife did the bidding because it was the first full day of school in August and I'm a 5th grade teacher.

I typically ignore student loan and/or medical late payments.As long as they aren't delinquent a lot, can afford the place (with verifiable income), have good landlord reference(s) (aren't needy, paid on time, or paid late fees if they were late and didn't destroy the property) and don't have any evictions, then they're good.If the first guy qualifies, let him know, set up a date to get the lease signed and then mail the old guy his fee back since you didn't process it.