Credit question and is this practice legit?

Question

My landlord does not report to the credit bureau that I pay a large amount of rent each month. I am a single parent who would like to buy a home but the only credit I have is not enought to barely buy a car. Can he legally report to the credit bureau and should I ask him to even if I had a few late payments (maybe he can overlook). What would he need to do to report good payments? Are there any fees? Can I have a friend report on time payment that I have made on a purchase from them? I am desperate to boost my credit score! Is any of this ok to do?

Answer 1

It is possible for any creditor to add an account to your report, and it is appropriate (but not required) for them to do so. After all, they'd probably report you if you were delinquent.

Answer 2

One thing that can help would be to enroll in a service called PRBC. It's a good site that allows you to have payments in the past and present verified and added to a seperate report (called a BPS, or Bill Payment Score) that can help lenders show that you're making payments on time where a traditional credit report sometimes doesn't. You can add rent, utilities, phone, insurance, day care, etc. Anything that you pay every month. And now, they're offering a service to where if you pay your bills through them, they'll report it every month for you. From my understanding, the monthly service fee is $4.95 a month.

Answer 3

It actually costs money to report to a credit bureau. Landlords usually don't report b/c it's not cost-effective for them to do so. It makes more sense for Visa or Discover to report b/c they have so many customers.
When it comes to mortgage lending, financial institutions have not necessarily lowered their standards, but they are more accepting of other forms of credit. You don't have to have a lot of traditional (car loans, student loans, credit cards) credit to qualify. They can accept what is called "non-traditional credit". Non-traditional credit is considered any bill you pay on a regular basis that does not show up on your credit report. The "lines" include: rent, utilities, cell phone service, car insurance, landline phone service, day care, etc.
In my market, the lender will accept this type of credit instead of basing their opinion off of a credit report. They will send letters of verification to the places where you have made on time payment for one year or more. They would base their decision off of those letters. Here in Northwest Ohio, you would have to have 5-6 lines of the non-traditional credit in good standing. (Where the lenders normally only look for 3-4 lines of traditional credit).
My advice would be to check around with the banks and credit unions in your area and see if they will accept non-traditional credit. If they do, just make sure that your payment history is solid for at least one year. After that you should be good to go without having to go through the hassle of trying to get your rent reported to a bureau.
Good luck!

Answer 4

I've never heard of any landlord reporting to any of the credit agencies every month.

What mortgage companies are looking for is a history of on time payments on debt. In order to boost your credit score, you'll need to get a credit card, even one with a low limit, use it regularly but PAY THE ENTIRE BALANCE AT THE END OF EVERY MONTH. Make all payments on time. On time payments will go farther than almost anything for helping your score.

The next thing mortgage companies are looking for is debt ratio. In other words, can you even afford to make a house payment? What is your income and how much can you afford in payments?

Answer 5

Only members of credit bureaus can report to credit bureaus. Landlords are usually not members. They may report you to a leasing clearing house if you are ever late on your rent.