New deadline: Baton Rouge landlords have more time to apply for Baton Rouge ReBuilds, a rental repair and reconstruction program aimed at helping residents recover from the August flood. The city-parish has announced that the application deadline for the program has been extended to Aug. 16. The program is intended to increase the available rental stock in East Baton Rouge Parish. Baton Rouge Rebuilds will help landlords renovate apartments of seven units or less. Single family and mobile home rentals also are eligible. Participating landlords will be expected to lease to renters who earn 80% or less of the area median income or at least a year, charging no more than about $840 per month for a two-bedroom unit. Get more information.
Clean slate: About 12 million people will get a lift in their credit scores starting on Saturday as the three major credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—begin the process of wiping tax liens and civil judgments from credit reports. The New York Times reports the change stems from a lengthy crusade by consumer advocates and government officials to force the credit bureaus to improve the accuracy of their reports. The change will benefit borrowers with low credit scores and help thousands who’ve battled, often in vain, to have incorrect information removed from their files. Errors can limit borrowers’ access to credit cards, auto loans and mortgages. Read more.
New lender: PayPal Holdings has invested in LendUp, a San Francisco-based startup that offers loans online to consumers considered too risky for traditional banks. Reuters reports LendUp has secured a strategic investment from PayPal, but did not disclose terms of the deal. Founded in 2012, LendUp is among the cohort of young tech-savvy companies that automate parts of the lending process to make it cheaper and faster to provide loans to consumers and small businesses online. It seeks to differentiate itself by offering products that it believes can help consumers with low credit scores and volatile incomes achieve financial health. LendUp describes its first product, LendUp Ladder, as an alternative to traditional payday loans. Read more.
