Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Consumers with low credit scores could soon have something to cheer about with the news that the three major credit reporting agencies in the U.S. are to implement policy changes that could lift their scores.
According to USA Today, the credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are set to exclude all data involving tax liens from consumer’s credit reports. The exclusion could raise people’s credit scores by around 30 points in most cases.
These policy changes were first put into effect last summer and involved removing almost 100 percent of the data held by credit reporting agencies on civil judgments. In addition, 50 percent of the data held on tax liens was removed from consumer’s credit reports. Now, the agencies will go ahead and strike off the remaining tax liens data from consumer’s records.
Experts from LexisNexis Solutions told CNBC that the changes would likely affect around 11 percent of the U.S. population who still have a civil judgment or tax liens issue on their credit file.
“Analyses conducted by the credit reporting agencies and credit score developers FICO and VantageScore show only modest credit scoring impacts,” said Eric Ellman, senior vice president of the Consumer Data Industry Association, in a statement.
A solid credit score is a key requirement for any borrower who wants to take on a home loan. Most mortgage lenders require a FICO score of 700 or above in order to provide a loan, though some specialized lenders may have other programs for those with lower scores.
