Attention Members Who Rent - Apply Payments to CR :)

[Anonymous]

I've been a renter since the age of 18, with coming so close to buying my first home 2 years ago until I resigned from my employer due to marriage and relocation (military). This year I discovered a wonderful company called Rental Kharma that allows yo to report your monthly rent payments to your CR.

During many years of renting there has only been one property management that reported my rental history. If more PM's and REOP's adopted this same concept, then I believe this would benefit all parties involved in terms of lending to FTHB or Refinance purposes.

Anyway guys check them out as there CS is supurb and the CEO himself willingly provides first hand knowledge with his own experience of increased scores with positive reporting.

[Fleuriste]

Rental Kharma is 9.95 per month.  eRentpayment offers reporting, and it only costs $3.00/month.  That said, I've heard mixed reviews about whether reporting rental payments will actually improve your score.  On Biggerpockets, there are several landlords who use eRentpayment for their tenants.  

[Anonymous]

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@Fleuriste wrote:

Rental Kharma is 9.95 per month.  eRentpayment offers reporting, and it only costs $3.00/month.  That said, I've heard mixed reviews about whether reporting rental payments will actually improve your score.  On Biggerpockets, there are several landlords who use eRentpayment for their tenants.  

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From my research using eRentpayment would mean the landlords would need to have a contracted service to accept payments from their renters, causing a third party billing type of scenario which many property management companies aren't willing to do if they don't see a ROI. Yet, by using Rental Kharma it is independent, meaning the service is checking in with the landlord based off the verified rental agreement terms with the landlord to ensure you paid as agreed like any other revolving or installment account, by not causing you to set up a separate account aside from how you normally pay your landlord or property manager.

They both report to TU and I know that by Rental Kharma verify my rental history from the past 24 months, thay my score rose 23 points. That isn't stating that will happen for everyone situation as YMMV. I've lived in 4 different states and currently in SoCal and have yet to find any landlord that voluntarily reports rental history. Thank you for sharing Fleuriste

[Fleuriste]

I'm glad to hear that the reporting improved your score.  So, if I'm understanding this, you would only use Rental Kharma for one month and report the last 24 months of on-time payments?  If that is the case, the $10 is worth it.  On the other hand, if you are paying $120/year to report your payments to TU, that seems a bit much.  If a tenant can convince their landlord to set up payments through a third party, then it would only cost $36 per year. I switched to online payments to accomodate a new tenant  last year and I haven't looked back since.  I love having payments automatically deposited into my business account every month.

[Anonymous]

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@Fleuriste wrote:

I'm glad to hear that the reporting improved your score.  So, if I'm understanding this, you would only use Rental Kharma for one month and report the last 24 months of on-time payments?  If that is the case, the $10 is worth it.  On the other hand, if you are paying $120/year to report your payments to TU, that seems a bit much.  If a tenant can convince their landlord to set up payments through a third party, then it would only cost $36 per year. I switched to online payments to accomodate a new tenant  last year and I haven't looked back since.  I love having payments automatically deposited into my business account every month.

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At first glance it does seem a bit pricey  paying $9.95/ mo but after running the numbers I felt the investment is well worth it as my credit score continues to increase with each payment made. The boost was from them verifying my prior landlord, not calculating my current agreement in place yet (they have a disclaimer that says allow 60 days for CR to reflect change in score).

Believe me when I say this, I've tried convicing my PM to branch out and weigh the option of implementing reporting of payments but they just don't feel like its worth the cost. Plus being in SoCal, there is always an added cost to a new benefit, so either way the rent would either increase or another expense added somewhere. So I rather take the hit in my pocket temporarily knowing that in the long run, the investment will pay off when it comes time for me to apply for a mortgage again. I'm glad that you are satisfied with your current service provider. I'm sure your residents are pleased as well.

Back home my old landlord reported to EQ and it definitely made a huge impact on my scoring, until I filed BK then that's another story all in itself. The history is still there and when I share my story with other renters on jumping on board to spread the wealth of knowledge to other renters and landlords, folks can't believe that any landlord would be willing to do it or knew that it was even possible.

[Fleuriste]

I wish that more landlords were forward-thinking on the issue of credit.  If I were renting to somone who was in the process of rebuilding credit, I would insist that the rents be reported to a credit bureau. I figure they are more likely to pay on time if being late dings your credit.  

[Anonymous]

My sentiments exactly! If the renter doesn't fulfill their contractual agreement as set forth in place then most likely the consequence will result in a negative report on their credit. It's truly a win-win for both actually.

[Anonymous]

Our Property Management company uses a company called 'Paylease'. They give you the option to report positive payments to CB's.. I of course take advantage of that feature.

They also allow you to pay via CC (with a $23 fee). Added to my $680 rent, That's $703/mo.. Using my PCMCU Platinum Rewards, I get 5% back (~$35).

Out the door, I'm saving ~$12/mo on rent, and having my rental payments reported through Paylease as well as my CC.

It is my understanding that rental payments don't appear on all types of credit reports, but it sure doesn't hurt. I've been VERY happy with our Property Mangagement for these reasons and others.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Our Property Management company uses a company called 'Paylease'. They give you the option to report positive payments to CB's.. I of course take advantage of that feature.

They also allow you to pay via CC (with a $23 fee). Added to my $680 rent, That's $703/mo.. Using my PCMCU Platinum Rewards, I get 5% back (~$35).

Out the door, I'm saving ~$12/mo on rent, and having my rental payments reported through Paylease as well as my CC.

It is my understanding that rental payments don't appear on all types of credit reports, but it sure doesn't hurt. I've been VERY happy with our Property Mangagement for these reasons and others.

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That's awesome of them to offer such a service. Maybe I can pitch this to my PM next time I'm in the office. Thanks for sharing DDC.