Credit Repair Houston Reviews Rental History For Errors Starting 2012
The Credit bureau Experian continues to ramp up collection of rental payment history as they plan to start reporting negative rental payment history in 2012. Earlier this year Experian acquired RentBureau a company that keeps tabs on about 8 million renters out of the nearly 100 million nationwide. Experian is currently soliciting large property management companies asking them to supply data.
While it is unclear how this data will be used or what weight it will be given it is safe to say late rental payment history reported to the credit bureau and subsequently sold to creditors will have a negative affect on a credit report which could impact the ability to rent and the cost as well. Given the backdrop of high unemployment, reduced incomes and reduced credit available, renting stands to get harder to come by and more expensive for those caught up in the economic downturn.
Potential benefits to property management companies might be better risk management as they prevent renting to residents who have a history off payment problems and might increase the incentive to people to pay their rent on time. On the flip side, residents might benefit by building positive on time payment history reported to the credit bureau. Of course, the benefits and pitfalls remain to be seen and some argue rental payment history is not necessarily a predictor of credit worthiness in other credit products.
Given the new push by the credit bureau to collect and sell rental histories many may be caught by surprise. The first step is to check with the landlord or property owner to see if they are reporting to the credit bureau. If so, you can inquire as to what is being reported. If you have been denied credit you have the right to know the reason for the denial including access to the data being reported about you to the credit bureau. Of course, it is better to be proactive than reactive so reviewing your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus three to six months prior to making a decision that requires access to your credit file is a good idea.
While it is unclear how this data will be used or what weight it will be given it is safe to say late rental payment history reported to the credit bureau and subsequently sold to creditors will have a negative affect on a credit report which could impact the ability to rent and the cost as well. Given the backdrop of high unemployment, reduced incomes and reduced credit available, renting stands to get harder to come by and more expensive for those caught up in the economic downturn.
Potential benefits to property management companies might be better risk management as they prevent renting to residents who have a history off payment problems and might increase the incentive to people to pay their rent on time. On the flip side, residents might benefit by building positive on time payment history reported to the credit bureau. Of course, the benefits and pitfalls remain to be seen and some argue rental payment history is not necessarily a predictor of credit worthiness in other credit products.
Given the new push by the credit bureau to collect and sell rental histories many may be caught by surprise. The first step is to check with the landlord or property owner to see if they are reporting to the credit bureau. If so, you can inquire as to what is being reported. If you have been denied credit you have the right to know the reason for the denial including access to the data being reported about you to the credit bureau. Of course, it is better to be proactive than reactive so reviewing your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus three to six months prior to making a decision that requires access to your credit file is a good idea.
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