You should weed them out better if you don't want to date anyone that is not well-educated or intelligent. Usually I am pretty clear with the person that I would prefer a woman who reads The New York Times, New Yorker or The Atlantic.

I don't know about the renter vs being a home owner. I personally rent, and don't have a problem if the girl owns her home and her car. The bigger thing for me is having something to say on where we are as a society, culture, people etc etc.