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Jul 21
2010
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Accurate Tenant Screening may Become Much Easier!
Posted by: Bill Gray on Jul 21, 2010 06:42 Tagged in: Untagged
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A credit report is basically a report card of how a particular person pays their bills. Why are monthly rent payments not reflected as a trade line on the credit report? I as well as many others, have felt for years that rent payments should be included on the credit report, just as mortgage payments are. If a tenant pays the rent on time every month, they should be awarded credit for paying their obligations. On the other hand, a tenant who does not pay their rent, or pays late, should be dinged on their credit, as they are if they pay a credit card late or skip the payment.
This month Experian announced that it has acquired RentBureau of Atlanta, Georgia. This acquisition may finally make it possible for rent payments to be accurately reflected on the credit report. RentBureau is the nation’s largest consumer-reporting agency specific to the multi-family industry. RentBureau provides landlords and property managers a way to report rent payment history. Click here for the press release
I have not learned the details of what Experian’s plans are with this acquisition, but I assume the result will be that landlords will finally have the ability to report rent payments directly to Experian, just as a mortgage company reports payments.
This could be a huge leap forward for both landlords and tenants. By reviewing a prospect’s trade line reflecting rent payments, a landlord will immediately know if the prospect has paid his/her rent on time. Conversely, tenants will finally receive credit for timely rent payments. Using this information to screen tenants could greatly decrease the possibility of a tenant skipping or being evicted because the rent was not paid.
I am curious how my reader feel about this new development in screening tenants. Please take two minutes and complete the quick survey. Include your email address and I will send you my free E-Book “How to Detect Social Security Number Fraud.”
Click here to complete the short survey
Bill Gray
