HOW TO SAVE TWICE THE PRICE OF THE BOOK

If you've gotten a mortgage in the past few years, you probably paid about $50 for the credit report.  You probably expect to pay the same amount this time and most lenders will oblige you by ordering a $50 report, called a Residential Mortgage Credit Report.

Recently, however, most Secondary Market sources (which write the rules) have begun accepting a "Three-Bureau Merged Report."  This report cost only about $20.  Tell your lender, "You can order whatever report you want, but I'm only going to pay you $20, the cost of the kind of report you really require."