Because of the state of the economy that is in a present state of recession, homeowners are finding it less expensive to rent instead of purchasing a house. In most cases, the long term option of renting after adding expenses of owning a home far outweighs the latter. After the economy recovers and the prospect of buying a home becomes feasible again, renting can again take a back seat to homeownership.

The state of the economy now, however, places homeownership in a precarious position of having to be downsized to pay off lingering debt or to get out of the financial stress of job loss. Homeowners who find themselves downsized to  a rental can use their financial condition to build up credit and Fair Isaac (FICO) scores to purchase a house once the economy recovers. The rental can put the previous home owner in a position to save money for unexpected expenses and make for a more secure future.

If renters are in rental residences because of less than perfect credit, the Fair Isaac (FICO) company  uses other measures to help renters to improve their credit. FICO as reported by Kiplinger Personal Finance publication states that an expansion score based upon nontraditional consumer credit data is used to access the credit score. Renter data such as bank deposit account records and even layway purchases can be used to see if the renter is paying these nontraditional methods of credit purchases on time. Fair Isaac has used other nontraditional methods such as payment on utility bills although companies do not always comply to the request for information.

The good news is that Fair Isaac is now accepting data from the website www.prbc.com that represents Payment Builds Credit. This website gathers data on rent and other recurring bill payments. A cost between $15 and $20 is charged to verify or setup an automatic bill payment through the bank or credit union. The nontraditional way of collecting credit information can help you to rebuild your rental history and increase your FICO score to purchase a home after economic recovery.