It is our policy to verify the credit references, employment, income and rental history of every adult applicant. The following are guidelines used by T. R. LAWING REALTY, INC. to interpret the information gathered on each applicant.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER:

• Each adult applicant must present evidence of a valid Social Security Number. This usually takes the form of a government issued identification card but payroll stubs will also be considered.

EMPLOYMENT and INCOME:

• Applicants must have verifiable monthly income from a local employer equal to or greater than four times (4x) the monthly rental rate.
• Any non-employment and/or passive income must be guaranteed for the term of the lease by the government agency or payer.

RENTAL HISTORY:

• Applicants must have a history of satisfactory rent payments and occupancy with all previous landlords.
• Applicants must have given sufficient notice-to-vacate at their last address.
• Judgments and evictions from any previous landlord are considered bad credit.

CREDIT REFERENCES:

• T. R. Lawing Realty purchases an infile credit report on every adult applicant. We require proof of good credit from everyone.
• Applicants must have two or more acceptable credit ratings or references, within the last 3 years.
• The bottom of this webpage further explains credit ratings and our policy toward large unpaid medical bills, defaulted student loans, bankruptcies, repossessions and judgments appearing on public records.

MARITAL STATUS:

• Married couples must be able to prove they are married. Generally, two photo IDs (such as driver's licenses) with the same last name will be sufficient. An alternative is to present a Marriage Certificate.
• T. R. Lawing Realty, Inc. will not aid any applicant in violating the laws of North Carolina prohibiting co-habitation. (N.C. General Statutes 14-184).

FINAL DECISION:

• All applications, including verification of credit, employment, income and rental history, must be submitted to and approved by a Property Manager before a lease is signed.

T. R. LAWING REALTY APPLICANT CREDIT POLICY:

1. Zeroes are considered too new to rate and are not necessarily good or bad.
2. A rating of 1 is considered to be good credit.
3. A rating of 2 is considered to be questionable credit.
4. A rating of 3 through 9 is considered to be bad credit. (See further guidelines below.)

FURTHER GUIDELINES:

1. Open, revolving and installment accounts rated 1 are good credit accounts.
   
   
2. Applicants must have two or more acceptable credit ratings or references, within the last 3 years.
   
   
3. Applicants with recent ratings (within last 3 years) of 3 to 9 should be considered bad credit risk.
   
   
4. Applicants with long credit histories whose records show ratings of 2 should be asked for an explanation of this questionable credit in order to determine whether it is reasonable to expect rental payments to be made on time.
   
   
5. Large unpaid medical bills as a result of circumstances beyond the applicant’s control will not be considered as part of the credit history if the applicant presents reliable, written evidence of mitigating circumstances and settlement efforts. (See mitigating factors below.)
   
   
6. One or more unpaid collections and judgments are considered to be bad credit. Collections and judgments appear under "Public Records." Collections and judgments can be paid, marked paid or satisfied but will not be removed from the credit report for 7 years. If collections and judgments have been paid and all other credit is satisfactory, the Property Manager may approve. If earnest and substantial efforts are being made to settle unpaid accounts, they may be documented as mitigating circumstances by the applicant.
   
   
7. Cases where the overall credit history is good but some minor discrepancies exist should always be discussed with the applicant in order to reasonably determine whether or not an expectation can exist that rents will be paid as agreed.
   
   
8. Defaulted student loans and bankruptcies should be considered bad credit, however, a bankruptcy followed by good credit established after filing, indicates an attempt to rectify past credit problems and may be considered acceptable if the bankruptcy occurred over three years ago.
   
   
9. If an applicant has a "Voluntary Repossession," he/she had indicated that they have realized they cannot fulfill their contract and allowed the item to be returned. Please discuss all "Voluntary Repossessions" with the Property Manager to determine if approval is possible.
   
   
10. Credit reports indicating installments in excess of 40% of Gross Monthly Income are not acceptable.
    
    
11. If the Leasing Agent receives part of the credit, employment, income and/or rental history verbally, the report should be detailed thoroughly on the back of the Rental Application. Simply writing "good credit" or "excellent reference" on the back of the application is not acceptable.
    
    
12. Both present and previous landlord references should always be checked and noted on the back of the Rental Application.
    
    
13. Mitigating factors regarding an applicant’s credit report such as hardships and disputes with creditors, will be considered by T. R. Lawing Realty, Inc. upon submission of objective written evidence, as long as the evidence presented, in the sole opinion of T. R. Lawing Realty, Inc., represents reliable evidence beyond the applicant’s control.
    
    
14. It is not T. R. Lawing Realty, Inc.’s responsibility to discover, research or verify that there are possible mitigating factors. The burden of proof to present mitigating factors rests entirely with the applicant.

Any unusual questions dealing with credit references, employment, income and/or rental history should be dealt with by the Property Manager assigned to the specific rental property.