If you are currently renting the place that you live, this story is for you. Rent is one of the largest monthly expenses and if you are consistently paying yours on time, you should get credit for it, right? A local company has found a way to make those on time payments boost your credit score.
Until now, rent was typically something that only impacted your credit score in a negative way. If you were evicted, then that court action was public record and normally on your credit report. Yet, if you paid on time every month, it was never reported in your favor. Creditformyrent.com is going to change that, for a fee.
Here's how it works. The credit experts who own the company say that renters can sign up for a $25 fee. Then for an additional $6.95 a month, they will start reporting your monthly, on-time rent payments to TransUnion, one of the three credit reporting companies.
If you want to build an immediate history on your credit report, you can. For an additional charge of $85 dollars, they will go back up to one year in your rental history and report positive payments. For $145, they will go back two years. They also have rates for couples. If you're a husband and wife or roommates, you can both get the payments reported $9.95 a month. If you want the year of rental payments reported that will cost $110. Two years is a fee of $170.
Creditformyrent.com requires validation from your landlord before reporting the payments but they say once they get everything in place, it can usually raise your credit score as much as 30 to 50 points.
In addition, the company helps you build your credit in other
ways and helps you monitor any changes.