Are You Paying Rent Online? Here’s Why You Should Start

How do you pay your rent? Via the online portal, or another way? If you’ve been paying rent online, you may have been building credit the whole time! If you’re not currently paying rent online, it’s not too late to start and reap the benefits. One 2017 study of 12,000 renters found that renters’ scores rose an average of 16 points within six months, benefiting those who started with a credit score below 620 the most.

When you pay rent online with us, your payments get reported to credit bureaus, showing them that you are responsible with your money. Plus, these payments can combine with credit card payments to increase your score even more. Here’s how it works.

Get Your Payments Reported to Credit Bureaus

“Rent isn’t always something that gets reported to credit bureaus, and in those cases, it doesn’t affect the renter’s credit score. But when those payments are reported, they can help build credit—especially if you are new to credit or do not have a lot of experience using it,” says Bev O’Shea at NerdWallet.

So how do you make sure your rent payments are reported? At Lakewood Manor Apartments, our online rental payment system reports information to the credit bureaus so you don’t have to worry about it. In order to opt in for the credit reporting, follow these steps:

As credit bureaus receive a record of your on-time rental payments, your credit score is likely to improve.

Show Credit Bureaus You Are Responsible

Usually when you think about a credit score, you think of your loan payment history , the credit cards you use, and the fact that your score suffers if you get it pulled too many times. Does paying rent fit anywhere within that scope?

Yes! As you pay rent online, those payments become part of your payment history. As you pay on time and in full and continue to do so, that becomes part of your score, too.

Get an Even Higher Score If You Pay with a Credit Card

It might be worth using a credit card specifically to pay your rent to boost your score even more.

“Open a credit card and use it to pay your rent . . . then pay your credit card balance in full each month,”  says LaToya Irby, credit expert for The Balance. “The timely credit card payments will help boost your credit score.”

Paying with a credit card is totally optional, but it’s an easy way to build your credit since you’re paying rent anyway.

Head over to the resident portal and try paying rent online! You might just build your credit as we report your payments to the credit bureaus and pay with a credit card. Happy credit-score-boosting!