Freddie Mac Wants To Help Renters Build Up Their Credit Through
Renters now have a chance to use their rental payments to help build their credit scores. Freddie Mac has a new program that allows renters to use their on-time monthly rent payments to build up their credit. This is good news for the renters but also for the owners or managers of rental properties as an incentive. Property owners or rental managers can now report on-time rental payments to the credit bureaus.
This new program’s purpose is to help those who do not have a credit score. It is reported that 45 million U.S. adults have no credit score. In fact, less than 10% of renters currently see their on-time rental payment history reflected in their credit scores. This is preventing many U.S. adults from getting some of the best mortgage rates in order to purchase a new home.
“Rent payments are often the single largest monthly line item in a family’s budget, but paying your rent on time does not show up in a credit report like a mortgage payment,” says Michael DeVito, CEO of Freddie Mac. “That puts the 44 million households who rent at a significant disadvantage when they seek financing for a home, a car, or even an education. While there remains more to do, this is a meaningful step in addressing this age-old problem.”
Esusu Financial Inc. technology is used by Freddi Mac to report rental payments and rental data to all three credit bureaus. When a renter misses a payment, it will automatically unenroll renters. As an incentive, Freddie Mac will allow closing cost credits on multi-family loans to those who chose to use the Esusu platform.
“At present, the most common way for rents to be reported to the credit bureaus is when there is a missed payment that has gone to a collections agency,” says Alexis Sofyanos, senior director of Equity in Multifamily Housing at Freddie Mac. “Freddie Mac wants to flip that script, so that renters who pay their rent on time and in full each month get credit for doing so, while also putting in safeguards for the most vulnerable.”