Order Your Free Credit Reports and Scores

This is the only website regulated by the FTC. Get your free reports here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com

Did you know you have three credit reports maintained by three different companies? It's true. You need to know if the information contained within these reports is correct, because it can make the difference between getting approved or denied for a loan. The first step is to order your free credit reports online so you can review them for errors.

The Importance of Credit

Good credit has always been important. It makes it easier to get qualified for financing (such as a mortgage loan), and it helps you secure the lowest interest rate on a loan. On the other hand, bad credit reduces your financial options and makes it harder to get approved for loans.

While this has always been the case, it's even more important today. Because of the housing crisis that started in 2007, lenders are requiring borrowers to have better credit in order to qualify for loans. This is why it's so important to order your free credit report online so you can review it for errors.

It's not uncommon to find mistakes in a credit report. In fact, it happens quite often. Your credit score is "born" from the information contained within your credit reports. So if those reports contain errors, they could drag your score down lower than it should be. This will make it harder to get approved for financing, and it will put those prime interest rates out of your reach.

Here's something else that's important to bear in mind. Correcting mistakes in your credit reports can be a slow process. When you contact Equifax, Experian or TransUnion to request a correction, you will quickly find out that you are not their customer. The lenders and financing companies who order your credit reports are their customers, but you are not. So it can a long and frustrating process to get things sorted out.

Ordering Your Reports Online

Again, this is why it's so important to start the process early on in your home buying process, before you start applying for home loans. You can order your credit report online in several ways. You can request it through AnnualCreditReport.com, which is a joint website owned by Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Or you can order your reports as part of package deal (along with your credit scores and other things).

By law, you are entitled to one free credit report per year from all three of the reporting agencies mentioned above. And because you can order them online, there is no excuse for procrastinating!