Get a Credit Score Without Much Credit
Think you don’t have a credit score because you either don’t have credit cards or you seldom use credit? Well think again. A popular growing trend has a handful credit bureaus looking at your various bills to determine a credit. While still a little unconventional, many lenders today are more willing to take into account anything that adds financial history to a borrower’s status. The recent mortgage meltdown has added to this growth.
Companies such as Pay Rent, build Credit (PRBC), First American Credco, LexisNexis will help borrowers establish credit for a fee by looking at alternative payment information such as your utility, phone, and rent bills. These firms will dig around for any other public records that might help establish a credit rating of some kind. Basically, they gather as much information to provide to the lender so that the lender can determine whether or not you’ll make good on a loan.
So this is definitely a different approach, and a viable alternative to those that don’t have much established credit under the standard credit models and systems. Where FICO scores seem king among Equifax, Transunion, and Experian, these new credit ratings are becoming more popular.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_16/b4080052299512.htm?campaign_id=aol
