The biggest single determiner of your ability to purchase a home is your credit history.  It will not only determine which financing options will be available to you, but your credit history is also the greatest impactor of the interest rates you'll be offered.  So it is important you put your best foot forward in relation to your credit behavior.

Utilizing the services, knowledge and experience of a trusted mortgage professional - hopefully a mortgage planner like the Sam Croskell TEAM, with TEAM leader Sam Croskell, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist, to analyze your credit report.  You'll then have the knowledge as to the the options for your specific circumstances and near and long term goals.  Mortgage programs are varied and guidelines frequently change, so the counsel of an experienced financing specialist is critical to your best outcome.

To obtain your credit report, you can contact the three national credit reporting agencies – Equifax www.equifax.com, Experian www.experian.com or TransUnion www.transunion.com - and request a copy from each.  You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com and secure you credit report through a government mandated site provided by the 3 credit reporting agencies.  Perhaps the best option is to contact the Sam Croskell TEAM and have them obtain your credit report for you.

This last option is possibly the best, as a credit report you obtain for yourself isn't useable by a lender for your borrowing purposes.  Sam and his TEAM will cover your report with you so you'll understand the positives and negatives in your report, gain advice on the best road to take for improving your score or correcting errors if needed.

Credit reports aren't easily interpreted and you'll undoubtedly have questions and concerns that deserve straight forward answers and solutions.

If you've been denied credit, insurance, or employment because of information in your credit report from any of the three agencies, you can obtain a free credit report by contacting the agency within 60 days of receiving a denial notice. In addition, you're entitled to a free copy of your report each year when you certify in writing that (1) you're unemployed and looking for a job within 60 days, (2) you're currently on welfare, or (3) your report contains errors due to fraud. Otherwise, the agencies charge a fee for a copy of your report.

For additional fees, each agency may offer you different report variations, such as:

• A credit report with or without your credit score.
• A three-in-one credit report that lets you see a side-by-side comparison of records, from all three agencies, with or without scores.
• Notification services when your credit history is requested.
• Routine notification changes to your file.
• Subscriptions that allow you to access your report on a regular basis.

New law promotes free access to credit reports
You can now get your credit report for free regardless of your employment or financial situation. A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) mandates that each agency provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every year, from www.annualcreditreport.com.

If you decide to use one of the heavily advertised websites, ones that purport to provide you a free copy of your credit report, and you know the ones we're talking about, to secure your credit information is not the best avenue.  These websites charge you for "some" service or another, will then sell your personal credit information to a variety of businesses for a fee.  You'll be inundated with unsolicited services and your personal information will now be propagating the information universe all over again.

If you are thinking of buying a home or simply curious about what’s in your credit report,  it’s important to correct any errors you discover as soon as possible.  You don’t want errors in your credit report  affecting your eligibility for credit in the future.