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.
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.
Socially Responsible
Stocks.
Invest in companies specializing in solar power,
bicycles, sustainable agriculture, etc. See my
guide to Socially
Responsible Stocks.
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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
My other guides.
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other consumer-oriented sites I've put
together:
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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.
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