How to Buy a House

GENERAL Federal Consumer Information Center The FCIC is a gold mine of helpful info, with topics including How to Qualify for a Low Down Payment, Shopping for Mortgages, Closing Costs, Mortgage Insurance, Home Maintenance, Refinancing, How to Sell a Home, and much more. Is it better to Rent or Buy? Find out with the calculators on Yahoo and E-Loan. Take the Rich off Welfare Book Take the Rich off Welfare explains how things like the mortgage interest deduction are just a form of welfare for the rich. MORTGAGES Current Mortgage Rates Check them at Yahoo. How much can you borrow for a mortgage? Use the calculators from E-Loan and Yahoo. Mortgage Brokers E-Loan helps you find a bank to give you a mortgage. Private Mortgage Insurance PMI Rescue explains what it is, and how to cancel yours when you don't need it any more. Refinancing a Mortgage See the Motley Fool's article on refinancing, and a calculator to tell you how much refinancing will save or cost you. OTHER INVESTMENTS Socially Responsible Stocks. Invest in companies specializing in solar power, bicycles, sustainable agriculture, etc. See my guide to Socially Responsible Stocks.

CREDIT Three-in-One Credit Reports You can get a copy of your report from each of the three main Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA's) for $9 or so (sometimes free, if you've recently been denied credit). But many credit card issuers will sell you a single report that combines the information in your file from all three CRA's (3-in-1 report). For example, Discover Card sells a service called ProfileProtect for $8 a month. When you sign up they send you the 3-in-1 report, and then they monitor your credit file at each of the three CRA's and let you know if bad info gets added to your file. You can cancel at any time. If you don't have a Discover card, call the customer service number of any card you DO have and see if they offer this service. If not, you can order a 3-in-1 report online from QSpace, but it's more expensive ($30). Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA's) If you were unable to get a 3-in-1 report (or didn't want to, for some reason), you can order an individual report from each CRA: Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian. Your Rights concerning Credit Reports Useful info on the Federal Trade Commission's Credit pages OTHER CONSUMER GUIDES My other guides. If you liked this site, here are some other consumer-oriented sites I've put together: How to Get Cheap Airfare on the Internet. Vegas Reference. Whether you're gambling in Vegas or online, these tips will keep you from losing a bundle.. Discount Website Design. I design and host websites for a small monthly fee. Personalized Wedding Gifts. I did this site for my mother. She makes high-quality, hand-crafted, personalized wedding gifts. All my consumer guides. Here's a list of all my consumer guides in one place, including the highly popular How to Save Electricity.