[scfr]

If you live in a state that qualifies for free credit reports, as mentioned above, you can get your reports for free from annualcreditreport.com. If you pay a little extra (around $6-8 per credit company, I believe) you can add your credit score.

Here's a little "learn from my mistake" advice: Be sure to get all 3 reports & scores! When we bought our first home many years ago, I started checking my credit reports & scores. At the time, there were no free reports, and we had to pay for them. When the first two reports came back identical, I decided to save a little $ and skipped the 3rd report. Of course, that 3rd credit report was the one our lender used and it included one of my mother's credit cards that had an outstanding balance. [She had added me to one of her cards when I was studying abroad, to be used for emergencies only. She never had me taken off of it. And, she was carrying a balance on it ... tsk, tsk.] It delayed our loan process by a couple weeks, which was quite nerve-wracking.

Good luck to you!