Want to Know How to Increase Your Credit Score? Pay Rent Online
If there is one key thing known for making life easier, it would be maintaining a good credit score. This is especially true considering your credit score can affect everything from car insurance rates to qualifying for lower car loan rates to even avoiding security deposits on utilities.
To increase your credit score and take advantage of those benefits, try to pay rent online. Making those monthly on-time rent payments ensures your payments are reported to the key credit bureaus, provides those bureaus with the information they are seeking, and, when combined with credit card payments, can increase your score even more. Here’s how.
Makes Sure Payments Are Reported
“Simply paying your rent will not help you build credit,” says Bev O’Shea at NerdWallet. “But reporting your rent payments can help you build credit—especially if you are new to credit or do not have a lot of experience using it.”
So how do you make sure your rent payments are reported? Log into the Four Seasons online rental payment portal to pay rent online each month. By using this convenient payment system, you’ll know that your positive rental payment history is being reported, boosting your credit score. In order to opt in for the credit reporting, follow these steps:
- Log in to your account through the resident portal and click on “Make a Payment Now.”
- Select “Build your credit history by opting in to credit reporting.”
- Enter your information in the credit reporting fields. Be sure to select “yes” for month-to-month lease if you have one, or select “no” and a lease end date.
Provides Credit Bureaus with Important Data
There are five key elements that make up a credit score, and because some of those elements are more vital, credit bureaus weigh some heavier than others.
“Even though the specific equation for coming up with your credit score is proprietary information owned by FICO, we do know what information is used to calculate your score,” says LaToya Irby, credit expert for The Balance. For example,
- 35 percent of your score is based on payment history.
- 30 percent is pulled from the level of debt in comparison to your limits.
- 15 percent is your length of history.
- 10 percent is from the number of inquiries into your credit, and
- 10 percent is based on the mix of credit accounts.
Considering that the highest percentage of those credit score elements is payment history, it makes sense to get recognition when you pay rent online and on time.
Boost Scores Higher When Combined with Credit Card Payments
Looking to boost your credit score even higher while also reaping the benefits of a rewards-based credit card? Use that air-miles or cash-back card rather than your debit card.
“Open a credit card and use it to pay your rent . . . then pay your credit card balance in full each month,” says Irby. “The timely credit card payments will help boost your credit score.”
A better credit score is closer than you think when you pay rent online. Once you’ve set up your online payment portal account for rent, your payments will be reported to credit bureaus and show the bureaus exactly what they are looking for. Plus, if you choose to pay rent with a rewards credit card, you may increase your score even more while also earning some cash back or air miles.
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