Credit education efforts taking hold at apartment communities
[etm_menu width=”0″ aligment=”aligncenter” display=”0″ flag=”0″ layout=”3″ ]Source: Multifamily Insider Credit education efforts taking hold at apartment communities ~ There’s no sugarcoating it: Obtaining credit with a low credit score or an insufficient credit history can be tough. A low score can hamstring people’s ability to obtain a mortgage, car loan or credit card — and subject them to higher interest rates and large security deposits for utility services and rental homes. But a low credit score doesn’t have to last forever. Financial education has proven to be a powerful boon to people’s credit history. Across the nation, apartment communities — especially those in the affordable housing sector — are providing financial literacy programs to give their residents a brighter future. Communities offering these programs have found that simply offering classes is often not enough to persuade residents to participate. It’s only when the communities give residents the option to have their rental payment history reported to credit bureaus that interest in the financial literacy programs usually takes off. For example, officials with the New Hampshire-based Affordable Housing, Education and Development Inc. (AHEAD), which owns and manages more than 400 affordable housing units, report that resident participation in the organization’s financial