Higher risk tenants in smaller towns

[Andrew S.]

I'm looking at renting a unit I own in a small town (2500 people). The prospective tenant has an income that qualifies > 3x rent for 3 months. They have no rental history from living with parents and owning their own home with an ex. Their credit score is poor from a truck repo that they signed with their ex (they discussed this before I've run the credit check). It's a fairly younger person with a couple of young kids, if that matters. I understand the tenant pool in the smaller town can be less cookie cutter. I'm considering to offer them to pay first month rent, last month rent, and a normal security deposit for no rental references, poor credit, and a new job. Curious what others have done in this situation?

[Nathan Gesner]

Even in a small town, standards are important. You don't know if he can take care of a rental because you have no historical data regarding care of a home or payment of rent. If he has bad credit, what's your leverage for ensuring compliance with the lease? 

There's a chance I would rent to someone like this but only if I could mitigate the risk with a deposit equal to two months rent or something to that effect. I'll give people a chance to prove themselves but it's going to cost them.