By now you know that your credit score can have a big impact on your life—like when you want to finance a big purchase such as a house, or when you’re looking for a new rental.
You can expect your potential landlord to run a credit check and, as a general rule, you will need a score of 620 or higher to rent an apartment.
But credit reports can, on occasion, contain errors—and those errors can derail your apartment search when a landlord gives you a hard pass as a tenant.
“Credit report errors are actually common,” says David Bitton, co-founder of and chief marketing officer of DoorLoop, a property management software. “In fact, at least 1 in 5 people can encounter an error in any of their credit reports.”
Apartment hunting is hard enough, especially if you live in an area where desirable properties get snatched up at a moment’s notice. The last thing you need is to lose out on a rental because of errors on your credit report. But knowing what to look out for can get you back on level playing field. Read on for more information about credit score errors.
Why credit report errors happen
Errors on your credit report happen for a number of reasons: A creditor or lender might report incorrect information to a credit bureau. Other times, it can be a case of mistaken identity. You might share a similar Social Security number with someone with a less-than-stellar credit history.
“Someone with a similar name may show up on your account,” says Adjina Dekidjiev, a broker for Coldwell Banker Warburg.
Closed accounts, like student loans or car loans that you paid off in full, can still show as open or delinquent, show the wrong balance, or show an inaccurate payment history because the creditor didn’t update the account.
Errors can also happen in cases of identity theft or fraud.
Mihal Gartenberg, a broker for Coldwell Banker Warburg, says one of her tenant clients had a major credit issue due to a case of family fraud.
“The only way the credit bureaus would fix the problem was for my client to press charges against the family member. As my client was unwilling to do so, the credit hit remained in their history,” says Gartenberg.
Unfortunately, most credit report errors aren’t discovered until after a potential landlord has pulled your credit report.
You can fix a credit report error
When there’s a credit report error, the damage can be fairly severe. But it can be fixed.
When you discover the mistake, you must present written proof—as well as documents that support your dispute—to the company that provided the information and the three major credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
“Send a copy of the report along with your letter. Make sure that the errors in the report you want to dispute are highlighted,” says Bitton. “You may also send a copy of any pertinent documents that will support your dispute. Send these through certified mail, so you can request a return receipt.”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers a number of tools, including a sample letter, that you can send to a credit-reporting agency to dispute inaccurate information.
Credit-reporting companies must investigate your dispute and report the results back to you. However, if they determine that your dispute is baseless, they can choose not to investigate and will notify you within five days of their decision.
If your credit report does need to be corrected, the reporting agency must notify all of the furnishers (aka the bank or business that provided the information to the credit-reporting agency), so they can update their reports with the accurate data.
“A lot of bureaucratic work needs to be done to fix the error, but it’s well worth the effort,” says Josh Tepper, an agent for Coldwell Banker Warburg.
Monitor credit before renting
Before you start your apartment search, it’s best to get familiar with your credit score by going to a website like Credit Karma or myFICO, which allows you to check your credit whenever you’d like.
“It doesn’t cost anything, and it won’t affect your credit rating,” says Ellen Sykes, a broker for Coldwell Banker Warburg. “If you read the report carefully, you will be able to pick up on any negative issues—which could be errors—and fix them.”
Learn more on Realtor.com
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