It's one of the biggest decisions you can make: buying a home.

But how can you be sure you're getting a good deal on your mortgage?

Today, the Indiana Attorney General's office joined the fight to make one lender more accountable.

Countrywide is a national lending agency accused of several violations, including altering incomes and raising fixed mortgage rates without a customer's knowledge.

Attorney General Steve Carter says even a slight increase can impact a family’s budget. "That's pretty dramatic,” he says. “If people haven't calculated that increase, and when you're talking about it leaping up four or five percentage points, that's going to have a huge impact on a family's budget."

Carter says Countrywide is also accused of raising the salaries of its customers. "That gets somebody into a larger mortgage, but ultimately they're going to have trouble paying that loan based on their true level of income," he says.

Indiana and four other states are suing countrywide for more than $15,000 per case.

Carter says it's important to know as much about your mortgage lender as possible.

For more information, including helpful tips for homebuyers, click on the Big Red Bar on the left side of the page. There, you’ll find a link to the Attorney General’s office.