This Element is an excerpt from Homebuyers Beware: Who’s Ripping You Off Now?--What You Must Know About the New Rules of Mortgage and Credit (ISBN: 9780137020164) by Carolyn Warren. Available in print and digital formats.

The new rules of credit: what you need to know--and do--to get credit today!

For many years, it seemed as if anyone could get credit--and they did. Well, we know how that turned out! In the fall of 2008, that house of cards came crashing down. Today, credit is king. What do you need to know about good credit in the new credit era?