First time landlord here. We just started advertising our rental 3 weeks ago. $1675/month for a 3 bedroom in Garfield NJ. We've gotten a lot of interest, 30 different groups of visitors, of those 8 applicants...

We wanted to make a decision today, we are leaning towards one applicant. So when another applicant called to see if there was any updates on his application status, I told him we were going to go with someone else. He called back to say that he was willing to pay an extra $150/month... not sure what to do at this point. He is a single Divorced Man, good job at a big company, away on business a lot. He gave us his W2, and it shows he makes $150,000/year. His Credit is shot however, he says due to his recent divorce, his Ex-wife took his house and everything. He has four kids and has them for two weekends a month, so he wanted a 3 bedroom so he could have his kids have some space when they are over. *He has yet to submit his credit report or background check, both of which we are requiring.

Our other applicant we are considering is a nice family with three daughters, they are very focused on their education. The parents run their own bodyshop, so its hard to verify income, they claimed they made $50k on their 2014 Tax Return, which would meet our requirements. Their credit however is on the low end. We wanted an average of 640 or above, and the Wife meets it but the Husband does not, he says its because of identity theft.

Thoughts, what would you choose?

Here is a link to the ad if interested https://home.cozy.co/apply/#/47395