Examples of accounts that may qualify as alternative credit are are cellphone accounts, cable TV accounts, car insurance and even cancelled rent checks all can be used as alternative credit. However they all need to be paid on time in the last 12-24 months.

Banks make a distinction between loan applicants with no credit history and those with bad credit history. Non-prime lenders are usually the only source of mortgage financing for loan borrowers with bad credit profiles, whereas home buyers with little or no consumer credit history can often get home loans with Alternative Credit features from banks. Mortgage brokers are a good source for Alternative Credit mortgage programs.

You may also here mortgage professionals refer to alternative credit such as cell phones and cable TV as Alt trade lines. This is an excellent way for someone with very little established good credit to prove their credit worthiness to a lender. It's all about building a case for yourself to the lender. Knowing how to package your information to the lender is a better portion of the mortgage broker's job.

These Alternative Credit programs are very useful for Foreign Nationals, who traditonally will not have established credit since they have just come to the United States.