I just went through a very interesting experience with a new house. I am going to lease for the next couple of years to wait for the housing industry to settle. My wife and I found an amazing home, really is perfect for our family. I let the owner know we wanted it. I gave him the deposit, and waited for the credit app to come through. I am always a little weary of the credit app as about 6 years ago I was in a bad business dealing and it effected my credit negatively. So I always have to get ready to explain it.

Funny thing happened when I asked the owner where the credit app was. He said, “Don’t worry, I Googled you, you seem to be legitimate”

Wow, I was floored. Here, he was telling a reputation management consultant that he Googled me instead of doing a credit report.

Then I thought about it for a while. Why not Google someone? Google will give you a much more accurate depiction on if someone is who they say they are than a credit reporting industry. But this does impose a huge problem for people not active in making sure their “Online Credit” is up to snuff. Make sure to get active and stay active as who knows, one day, people may use Google more than Experian for credit-based decisions.