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Credit card and loan companies undertake hard credit inquiries before approving applicants for finance. Some landlords also use such inquiries to determine a potential tenant's suitability for a property. If you've recently applied to rent a house or apartment, you may find a hard inquiry from AmRent on your credit report.

What Is AmRent?

AmRent is a consumer reporting agency specializing in obtaining the records of prospective tenants for landlords and rental companies. It provides landlords with comprehensive reports, enabling them to decide if an applicant would be a responsible tenant.

The areas AmRent supplies reports on include:

  • Credit reports
  • Criminal records
  • Eviction data
  • ID verification
  • Employment/income authentication

How do hard inquiries work?

There are two types of credit inquiries: hard and soft. A soft credit inquiry may appear on your credit report if you use a service like Credit Karma to check your credit score or apply for a loan or credit card quote. Soft credit inquiries just reveal your credit score, so they don't appear on your credit report or negatively affect your score.

Hard inquiries are more comprehensive and give lenders or other businesses your full credit report. These inquiries appear on your report for two years and lower your score. A hard inquiry may appear on your report after you apply for:

  • A loan
  • A mortgage
  • A credit card
  • A lease on an apartment
  • A new job

Some landlords or lenders only check with one of the credit bureaus, while others may use two or all three, affecting your scores.

Many hard inquiries on your credit report can significantly damage your score: however, one is unlikely to reduce your score by more than a few points. To limit the effects of hard inquiries, ensure that you:

  • Only apply for loans or leases that you're likely to qualify for.
  • Submit all applications for a loan or lease within a two-week period.

How to remove AmRent from your credit report

It's possible to remove negative entries from your credit report, and if you've never applied for a lease, AmRent shouldn't be on there. If you suspect that identity fraud or a reporting error is responsible for AmRent's hard inquiry appearing on your report, here are two ways to remove it:

Dispute the inquiry with AmRent and the bureaus.

Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have 30 days to dispute a hard inquiry. If you notice a hard inquiry from AmRent, contact the company and the bureaus to dispute it.

Hire a credit repair company

Repairing your credit can be difficult without professional assistance. Many companies specialize in helping people improve their credit scores. They can dispute inaccuracies in your report and also help with more complex issues, including:

  • Bankruptcy
  • Charge offs
  • Collections
  • Foreclosures
  • Judgments
  • Liens
  • Repossession

A good credit repair company will appoint a specialist to customize your plan. Although they come with fees, assistance from one of these companies is an excellent investment.

Getting AmRent removed from your report

Sometimes, a slight drop in your credit score is inevitable. Hard inquiries are an essential part of getting funding, or in this case, for a new home. If you recently submitted a rental application, you don’t need to worry too much about the accompanying inquiry. It should only result in a small decrease in your credit score, and it will fall off of your report completely in two years.

However, if you didn’t apply for a lease and think AmRent is on your report by mistake, you should dispute the entry ASAP. If you need assistance, one of the top credit repair companies can help you get started.

Disclaimer: This story was originally published on November 30, 2020, on BetterCreditBlog.org. To find the most relevant information concerning collections or credit card inquiries, please visit: https://money.com/how-to-remove-collections-from-credit-report/ or https://money.com/get-items-removed-from-credit-report/