A lot of what we’ve been hearing the past year is that lending standards have become tough. That you have to have a good credit score to get a loan due to the subprime mortgage crisis. Yet now the failure of prime mortgages is going to make it even harder for first time homebuyers to get into a home. Lenders are now even scrutinizing prime borrowers, those who already have a good credit score. It is vital that your credit score be immaculate before you apply for a home loan. Lenders are being more and more conservative with their loans. If you’re looking to get into a home in the future, maybe it’s time to start the credit improvement process now. You can either do it yourself by learning how to write a reputable dispute letter which takes a lot of time and patience or you can hire a reputable firm for a monthly fixed price.

Read more about tightening lending standards here.

One of the three major bureaus, TransUnion, recently announced something major, something that could affect virtually every American. The bottom line is that the bureaus can only sell public data and the Chicago settlement centered around the restriction that the bureaus are unable to sell a consumer’s private data.

The settlement offers an estimated 150 million, yes million, consumers either 6 or 9 months of free credit monitoring. However, if you go for the appealing 9 months of free monitoring, you are waiving some rights. Get more details in this summary article titled The TransUnion Settlement and Credit Repair.

The official TransUnion Corporation Privacy Litigation site can be found here, allowing you to register for benefits as well as provide your email address for updates.