NAMB teams up with PRBCMortgagePress.comNon-traditional credit reporting
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has announced that
it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pay Rent
Build Credit Inc. (PRBC), an innovative national credit bureau, to
educate consumers on how to document their creditworthiness with
rental, utilities and other commonly recurring bill payments that
are not reported to traditional credit bureaus.
"Increasing homeownership rates in underserved communities is an
important national goal and good business for real estate and
mortgage professionals," said NAMB President Jim Nabors II, CRMS.
"NAMB's partnership with PRBC represents an opportunity to [teach]
millions of formerly underserved consumers how to qualify for
affordable homeownership and to secure their financial futures by
becoming sustainable homeowners that know how to avoid default and
foreclosure."
Through NAMB's partnership with PRBC, professional mortgage
brokers serving local communities will have an opportunity to learn
how to enroll their low- and no-credit score prospects in the PRBC
service and to qualify more applicants for affordable
homeownership. Participating NAMB members may also obtain a listing
on PRBC's Web site, www.prbc.com, so that consumers in their
communities can search for them by ZIP code.
"To build wealth in America through homeownership and to avoid
the risk of default and foreclosure, it is essential not to overpay
for major purchases involving credit such as a mortgage, home
improvements and furnishings, auto loans and insurance," said
Michael Nathans, founder and chairman of PRBC. "It is estimated
that more than 70 million Americans make rental, mortgage and other
recurring bill payments that are not reported to traditional credit
bureaus. As a result, these consumers often have lower credit
scores than they should and pay more for housing, credit, and
insurance than they deserve."
Currently, traditional credit reporting agencies do not track or
score commonly recurring bills such as rent, private mortgages,
self-storage, utilities, telephone, Internet, cable TV, insurance
premiums or childcare. As a result, fiscally responsible consumers
without good so-called traditional credit histories are effectively
precluded from obtaining affordable home or auto loans, insurance
discounts or other asset building opportunities. This condition
also makes obtaining employment, utility hook-ups and telephone
service more difficult and costly.
The MOU marks the first time the two organizations have agreed
formally to work together. The two organizations agreed to:
• Educate NAMB members on how to offer the PRBC service to
help their prospective customers qualify for affordable
homeownership, better rates on auto loans and insurance, avoid
utility hook-up and telephone security deposits and to access
better employment opportunities.
• Demonstrate NAMB's community development through leadership
and a mutual interest in improving the financial well being of low-
to moderate-income consumers in need of credit and housing.
• Increase the number of consumers in local communities that
can become sustainable homeowners.
For more information, visit www.namb.org or www.prbc.com.
