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The U.S. economy is on the brink of a depression. All of us are finding it harder and harder to get by, with wages stagnant and the prices of goods continually on the rise, especially fuel. The mortgage meltdown is still going on and this is not making matters any easier for the U.S. consumer. With banks tightening their requirements for home loans as well, it’s getting hard to get ahead. Whether you know it or not, there are many things which can influence your credit score and they can change it in a moment’s notice. It’s hard enough to keep your credit score high; you need to take steps to protect yourself.

At this moment, it’s a buyer’s market for homes. For sellers, things don’t look so bright - but buyers have the ability to negotiate some great deals right now. Many start house shopping without even knowing their credit score. This is a mistake, since it can lead to your being denied a home loan; and you may not even know why you were turned down. While if you’re not in the market for a home right now, you may not think you really need to know your credit score. However, you can gain a lot by knowing your credit rating and if you are house hunting, you should first find out how to obtain free credit reports.

Once you have done this and have the opportunity to look through your free credit report, you will know exactly what is on your report. By federal law, you are entitled to free credit reports once a year. Even if you are not seeking out a home loan at the moment, it is helpful to look at your report; in many cases, there is inaccurate information on credit reports. It may be easy to fix these errors in some cases, more complicated in others, but knowing what is on your report is the first step to ensuring that your credit is in good shape.

An amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that consumers can get a free credit report annually from all three of the credit reporting agencies - TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. The FTC warns consumers that there are plenty of scams to watch out for who prey on people seeking to obtain free credit reports. Most of these “opportunities” are in fact scams and can result in you giving your personal information to unscrupulous operators or paying a fee for something which you ca get for free by law.

These websites may ask you to buy something or sign up for something to obtain free credit reports. There is one site which you can go to for a free, no strings attachd free credit report card; this site is www.annualcreditreport.com. The government recommends this site as a source for getting your free credit report. If you had to pay to get a credit report or you think you may have been scammed, file a complaint with the FTC. While you may not get your money back, you may be able to prevent others from being similarly cheated.

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