As of September 1st, residents of all US states and territories have the right to obtain one free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus per year. Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity, as a clean credit rating has become as important as receiving a clean bill of health from your physician. From a potential employer to your insurance company – more and more people are using your credit rating as a way to judge if you are a good risk.

The only authorized site from which to obtain your free credit report is www.annualcreditreport.com.

The free credit report will only give your credit history, not your credit score. If you do want to know your number, you can pay an add-on fee, or your mortgage professional may be able to help you on this count as well.

You are entitled to receive only one free report from each bureau per year, so consider staggering the requests. For example, make a note on your calendar to order one from TransUnion in January, one from Equifax in May, and one from TRW in September. In essence, this will allow you to order three credit reports per year…and provide you the ability to monitor your credit throughout the year.

With the tremendous concern about identity theft in recent years, a further layer of protection is available…for a fee, of course, but it is quite nominal. As an example, for $100 per year, Equifax is offering unlimited credit reports, notification of any key changes in credit history, $20,000 worth of identity theft insurance, and up to $4,000 in lost wages to cover taking time off from work to clear credit matters. Trans Union offers a similar program with quarterly access to your credit reports and $25,000 in identity-theft insurance for approximately $50 per year. But if you are considering one of the above policies, first contact your homeowners insurance company…your policy just might include some identity theft insurance already.

When applying for any type of credit, your clean credit history can help save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in interest each year. If you have additional questions about credit or performing a credit analysis, be sure to contact your mortgage professional for advice.