Rent and light-bill history could soon help millions secure a mortgage. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has told Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac they may now accept VantageScore 4.0, a credit model that counts on-time rent and utility payments, alongside the long-dominant FICO score.
What Happened: Unlike classic FICO, which ignores recurring housing and phone bills, VantageScore 4.0 pulls data from rent, utilities and telecom accounts, according to Investopedia. The shift, its creators say, could open the market to roughly five million first-time buyers.
The model was validated alongside FICO 10T in 2022, but the FHFA left most of the heavy lifting, including new software, investor analytics and securitization standards, to lenders and the two government-sponsored enterprises.
Adoption will not be overnight, lenders warn. "I don’t know how long that’s going to take, but it’s not going to be quick. It probably wouldn’t be this year," said Phil Crescenzo Jr., vice president at Nation One Mortgage Corp.
Michael McCarthy, branch manager for PRMG in Naples, Fla., agrees. "Part of being credit worthy is the ability and willingness to make a payment… this should count for something," he states.
Analyst Christopher Whalen, chairman of Whalen Global Advisors LLC., was blunter. "The mortgage industry and global buyers of mortgages and [mortgage-backed securities] are not likely to adopt VantageScore anytime soon," he said.
Why It Matters: Trade groups have pressed FHFA for clear pricing grids and underwriting rules before lenders flip the switch.
Fannie and Freddie say detailed guidance is coming and note lenders can keep using today's tri-merge reports while the scoring overhaul rolls out through 2025.
For now, borrowers can still ask lenders to manually document 12 months of rent to strengthen borderline files, Crescenzo said, "You don’t need Vantage to do it." If the timeline holds, VantageScore could become mandatory for new conforming loans by late 2025.
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