There are lots of “FREE” credit report websites, some with catchy commercials and jingles.  But when you visit their website, you find that one of the conditions for your free report is to sign up for their monthly credit report monitoring service.  The problem is that these services come at a costly monthly membership fee.  One of these sites is actually run by Experian, one of the credit bureaus that is required to provide you with a truly free annual report.  While these credit report monitoring services can be helpful, they’re simply not necessary.

Instead, visit AnnualCreditReport.com which is a centralized service for consumers to request free annual credit reports. It was created by the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies (aka “credit bureaus”) Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.  There, you can request your free report online, by phone, or by mail.  And they have a great FAQ’s link with a lot of info on how to protect your credit.

It used to be that a 720 was considered an excellent credit score, however that’s no longer the case.  The new benchmark for excellent credit when it comes to mortgage rates is now a 740 or better.  When we obtain a credit report, we go off the middle score (not average) when there’s only one borrower, or the lower of the two middle scores when there’s a borrower and co-borrower.

We then look at the equity position.  Depending on the type of loan (rate/term refi, cash-out refi, or purchase), the rate can be higher or lower depending on the credit score and equity position.