Payment Reporting Builds Credit (PRBC), an innovative national credit bureau, has been paving the way for individuals with no credit score or “not enough credit” to get a home loan. Lenders use credit scores to make decisions on whether to approve a loan applicant. The ‘big 3’ bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion normally do not track when recurring bills such as rent and utilities are paid on time, but having a record these payments at PRBC can help you qualify for a mortgage.

 

 “An estimated fifty million people in the U.S. have either a ‘thin’ credit file or no credit file whatsoever with traditional credit bureaus,” says PRBC founder, Michael Nathans. “The high number is attributed to the fact that regular bills such as rent, utilities, cable, phone, and insurance are not reported to the major bureaus unless the payments are late.”

 

PRBC enables individuals to build their own consumer credit file and report using the regular bills they pay, subject to verification. The company founded in 2002 with a grant from the Ford Foundation and support from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Citimortgage, has grown in approval within the mortgage lending industry and is seen as a powerful player in creating an actionable way for people to achieve homeownership, without having to go into debt to prove their creditworthiness.

 

 “PRBC enables any individual with a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to build their own credit file using payments for the regular bills they pay that typically are not reported to the other bureaus,” Nathans says.

 

If you’ve paid your rent and three other monthly bills on time for the past twelve months, you could qualify for a mortgage. PRBC has many featured lending partners, and the list is growing.

 

Enrollment in PRBC’s Report Builder is done on-line. You may build your own PRBC file when you pay the following kinds of bills each month:

On-time payment of these types of bills is not typically reported to the ‘big 3’ credit bureaus – only when payments are late or missed. Your PRBC Report will document your positive payment history which can help qualify you for a near prime mortgage.

 

1. Pay your bills the day they arrive in the mail.

 

2. Make a list of the bills that do not come with reminders or statements each month, such as rent or bills with a payment book.

 

3. Keep your bills in one place. When the bills come in the mail, quickly place them in the same secure place each time, so that none get lost or misplaced and cause missed payments.

 

4. Write the due date for each bill on the envelope, so it will be easy to spot when bills are due. You can also put the ones with similar dates in a pile with rubber bands, so groups of bills can be paid at the same time.

 

5. Pick two days out of the month to pay your bills. Mark them on your calendar as a reminder. Sort bills to pay on which days, and get them in the mail on time.

 

6. Create a bill-paying calendar. Put the due dates for each bill on a special calendar or your everyday calendar.

 

Paying bills on time is important. It yields big rewards for your credit and saves you money by avoiding late fees.