Happy Holidays from everyone at the Credit Restoration Institute!

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones from everyone here at Credit Restoration Institute. We hope you enjoy a safe and memorable season with those who mean the most.

Download the perfect holiday companion!
Five tips to quickly improve your credit score

Your FICO score is nothing more, nothing less than a mathematical formula. Knowing this formula is key to having a great credit score.

Your credit score can be as low as 300 or as high as 850. That means that you have 550 points that you can either gain or lose when it comes to your credit score.

Over the last few years, I found five tips that account for the most significant improvements to your credit score in the fastest time. You can access these tips in the guide below.

IN THE NEWS:

TransUnion LLC Confirms Recent Data Breach with State Attorney General’s Office

On November 7, 2022, TransUnion LLC reported a data breach with the Massachusetts Attorney General after information in the company’s possession was subject to unauthorized access. According to TransUnion, the breach resulted in the names, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and driver’s license numbers being compromised. Recently, TransUnion sent out data breach letters to all affected parties, informing them of the incident and what they can do to protect themselves from identity theft and other frauds.

Read More





If used correctly, credit cards can be a beneficial tool when shopping during the holiday season. Many people turn to their credit cards for luxurious travel expenses, to pay for high-priced gifts, and to splurge on end-of-the-year purchases.

With perks like credit card rewards, cash-back opportunities, and more, it can be tempting to use your credit card for major and minor expenses. Bankrate wants to ensure you're getting the most out of your holiday spending by sharing a list of ways to save with your credit card this season.

Click here to continue reading

It can be expensive, but for many, holiday travel is essential.

Whether you're vacationing solo or traveling to visit loved ones, planning ahead can help ensure a successful trip. HerMoney put together a list of tips to help build (and stick to!) your holiday travel budget.

Continue reading in main article






Our custom credit disputes leverage the consumer protection laws and the credit bureaus’ automated codes to help remove or correct unverifiable items.

As our client, we dispute accounts with the bureaus and creditors on your behalf. Using our years of experience, we use the tools you need to move your case forward and get the results you are looking for.

Mortgage readiness and getting pre-approved all imply creditworthiness. You, too, can improve your credit.

Read More About Creditworthiness Here




Give us a call today to start your credit repair journey!
Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (804) 823-9601 | (800) 648-5157
mail@creditrestorationinstitute.com

A Warm Welcome to our New Board of Directors

 

We are thrilled to announce the Credit Restoration Institute Non Profit Board of Directors!

Meet our new Board of Directors! We are here to help people like you improve your credit scores and better their lives. Our team of legal, legitimate, and local professionals work closely together and with you to achieve your financial goals. Including the most important part, your creditworthiness.

You may have been one of the many Americans who signed up to receive regular updates on the Biden-Harris Administration's student debt relief plan in the past few weeks. As everyone prepares for the opening of the application window, the Department of Education is sharing critical information on how to protect yourself from scammers during this vulnerable time.

The Biden-Harris Administration has put together a do's and don'ts list to help notice any red flags that might pop-up during your application process. But the most efficient way to protect yourself is by making sure your information stays accurate and up-to-date, according to the administration. 

​

For more information and to read the entire list, click here.

Current Mortgage Trends

 A few weeks ago, The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual conference that it will now accept two new credit score models, the FICO 10T, and the VantageScore 4.0, for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This new expansion has the potential to allow more Americans the opportunity to purchase a home. 

“The enterprises have long relied on classic FICO, and it has met their basic needs, but it is time to recognize the significant innovations that have occurred in credit score modeling,” said Sandra Thompson, director of the FHFA, in Nashville, Tenn.

The institutions Fannie and Freddie were created by Congress, and are backed by the FDIC. They recognize a significant amount of the mortgages born in the U.S., so many lenders abide by the guidelines set out by Fannie and Freddie when they give mortgages to borrowers.

Read the full article here.

Another in the Best Practices Workshop Series!

Get advice on how to establish or repair your business credit as well as funding advice from a credit repair expert.

The registration fee is $30 and your attendance includes access to a recording of the webinar, as well as copies of all slides and handouts.

Register here!

Give us a call today to start your credit repair journey!

Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (804) 823-9601 | (800) 648-5157
mail@creditrestorationinstitute.com

 

October Newsletter 2022

CRI wishes everyone a Happy Halloween and we hope you enjoy the season with family, friends, and loved ones!

Say goodbye to Summer and get ready for events and festivals catered to food, culture, and more!

Discover Richmond Tours
2022 Fall Events & Festivals in Richmond, VA:

• 2nd Street Festival: October 1-2
• Powhatan’s Festival of the Grape: October 1
• Richmond Oktoberfest: October 7-8
• Richmond Folk Festival: October 7-9
• Armenian Food Festival: September 9-10
• St. Benedict Oktoberfest: September 16-18

Click the button below for a full list of Fall events and festivals to help you and your loved ones celebrate this season.

See the full list here

Continued Mortgage Trends

Even those new to the process know that purchasing a new home is one of the biggest purchases in one's life. The preparation should begin even before you start touring homes and especially before you make an offer. Realtor.com put together a checklist of everything you need to do in case you're feeling overwhelmed in your home-buying journey.

Their checklist includes helpful todos like checking your credit score, addressing any blemishes on your credit report, zeroing in on an attainable house price, shopping for the right mortgage lender, the importance of pre-approvals, and more.

If you’re planning on buying a home and are unsure of where to start, consider creating a checklist based on what these experts believe helps set buyers up for success.

Read More

Real Results!

Our custom credit disputes leverage the consumer protection laws and the credit bureaus’ automated codes to help remove or correct unverifiable items.

As our client, we dispute accounts with the bureaus and creditors on your behalf. Using our years of experience, we utilize the tools you need to move your case forward and the results you are looking for.

Mortgage readiness and getting pre-approved all imply creditworthiness.
You, too, can improve your credit.

Read More About CreditWorthiness Here

SCORE Workshop:  How to Establish or Repair Your Business Credit featuring Robert Linkonis!

Get advice on how to establish or repair your business credit as well as funding advice from a credit repair expert!

When you need funding for your business, you don't need to tap your personal credit cards or mortgage your home or personal assets for a loan. Business credit is out there if you know how to get it!

In this interactive session, you'll learn:

• The 20 foundational steps required to get approved for $50,000 plus in business credit.
• The inner workings of the business credit bureaus: D&B, Experian, and Equifax.
• How business credit scores are calculated and how to get an 85 D&B Paydex score.
• The "Anatomy of the FICO Score" and how to increase your personal credit scores sometimes up to 100 points.
• The risks to your personal finances from credit-related scams and fraud and how to avoid them!
• The practices/products, tools and services available to help you get proper reporting of your credit.

Click here to Register today!

What our clients are saying about us

Give us a call today to start your credit repair journey!
Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (804) 823-9601 | (800) 648-5157
mail@creditrestorationinstitute.com

Become a Member of our Board of Directors

CRI is seeking seven talented individuals to join its Board of Directors to govern the organization. The monthly time commitment is estimated to be four hours per month, including bi-monthly in-person Board Meetings.

Please complete the application in its entirety and submit it by September 15th. Executive Director, Robert Linkonis, will contact you during the week of September 19th to schedule a video interview during the week of September 26th.

Click here to complete the application,

Homebuyers have faced challenges recently, but there are signs that the struggle might be in the past. It's no secret that mortgage rates have skyrocketed and the cost of homes has increased– both of which have added to the cost associated with purchasing and owning a home. “What we are likely to see is that fewer buyers will be able to afford this housing market,” says Dr. Jessica Lautz, vice president of demographics and behavioral insights at the National Association of Realtors.

This summer’s housing market can still be expected to remain a sellers' market. Buyers shouldn't expect to have the upper hand in negotiations or have an easy time finding deals. But buyers should take advantage of the extra available to view homes and put together offers. As a buyer, supply and demand are huge factors, housing inventory is still rigorously low, and the market is likely to stay strong. Instead of seeing prices drop, they are expected to grow but at a slower pace.

If you’re planning on buying or selling a home during the summer 2022 homebuying season, take a look at what these three experts believe the real estate market to look like and what you can do about it.

Click here to read the full article.




NOVA Education has introduced a new game to teach financial literacy and decision-making!

Have you ever wondered how you can identify and overcome biases that hurt you financially? Now you can. NOVA teamed up with Duke University’s Center for Advanced Hindsight to design the NOVA Financial Lab, a game that breaks down the behavioral science behind budgetary decision-making. In the game, users can practice making financial decisions and examining the behaviors that influence how they spend money, and how these choices can affect progress toward economic well-being.

Learn more about the research behind the game and how you can play by visiting their website.



Give us a call today to start your credit repair journey!
Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (804) 823-9601 | (800) 648-5157
mail@creditrestorationinstitute.com

Predictions for the Summer 2022 housing market

Substantial price gains, intense competition, and more have been known to stifle the home buying process in the past, and now with mortgage rates continuing to be on the rise, what does that mean for potential homebuyers?

For many, higher rates mean increasing price ranges. But when even basic single-family homes are coming with the price tag of a lavish pad these days, buyers are having to choose between postponing their purchase or compromising on their preferred location. “The Fed has promised another interest rate boost. If you’re ready to buy, don’t wait because prices aren’t headed dramatically downwards to what our parents paid. Things might dip a bit, but there’s no cliff dive that’s going to happen," said Tabitha Mazzara, Director of Operations at Mortgage Bank of California.

Forbes Magazine partnered with mortgage and realty experts to make predictions for the housing market this Summer season. Read their full report here.




Our custom credit disputes leverage the consumer protection laws and the credit bureaus’ automated codes to help remove or correct unverifiable items.

As our client, we dispute accounts with the bureaus and creditors on your behalf. Using our years of experience, we utilize the tools you need to move your case forward and the results you are looking for.

Mortgage readiness and getting pre-approved all imply credit worthiness.
You too can improve your credit.

 

Are you ready to make a big purchase but want to look deeper into your credit first? You're not alone.

Our credit consulting services play a huge role in separating CRI from others. Our ongoing credit consultation service helps guide you to making smart financial decisions.

We want you to know that you can count on us and the information we provide. Call us today for more details.

 






Sales Bloomberg, the mortgage industry’s top-rated automated borrower intelligence and retention system, has released its latest Mortgage Market Opportunities Report. In their report, they project that sharp quarter-over-quarter increases in cash-out, credit improvement, and new-listing alerts in Q2 2022 will create areas of opportunity for lenders in the contracting mortgage market.

With New Listing Alerts continuing on the rise and realtor.com reporting that new listings are coming in at a pace not seen since 2017, purchase origination opportunities continue to reign supreme in the market. It has been reported that Americans’ overall financial well-being has improved and lenders should reconsider revisiting loan applicants they once turned down.

Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach are trusted by more than 300 lenders, including brokers, independent mortgage companies, credit unions, and banks to connect borrowers with the right loan at the right time.

Real the full article here

Give us a call today to start your credit repair journey!
Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (804) 823-9601 | (800) 648-5157
mail@creditrestorationinstitute.com

Shopping for a home with bad credit and what you should do

Have you been considering buying a new home but are concerned about your credit score?

Home-buying can be stressful, and many people label it confusing, especially those with less-than-ideal credit scores. Most lenders look for buyers with a credit score of 620 or higher, but with research, buyers can find lenders who will consider credit scores around 580. ​

Select (from CNBC and NBC News) put together a list of lenders who work with applicants who have credit scores below the average threshold. Read the complete evaluation here.

These are REAL results!

Our custom credit disputes leverage the consumer protection laws and the credit bureaus’ automated codes to help remove or correct unverifiable items.

As our client, we dispute accounts with the bureaus and creditors on your behalf. Using our years of experience, we utilize the tools you need to move your case forward and the results you are looking for.

Mortgage readiness and getting pre-approved all imply credit worthiness.
You too can improve your credit.

Read More About Credit Worthiness Here

 

Are you ready to make a big purchase but want to look deeper into your credit first? You're not alone.

Our credit consulting services play a huge role in separating CRI from others. Our ongoing credit consultation service helps guide you to making smart financial decisions.

We want you to know that you can count on us and the information we provide. Call us today for more details.

 

Continued Mortgage Trends

The Federal Reserve has decided to raise its key interest rate by 3/4 of a percentage. Now buyers are wondering what this will mean for mortgage rates. “We are seeing rates move up pretty briskly, and a lot of that has to do with forward-looking expectations with where things are headed,” said Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Mortgage rates have already risen two percentage points since the beginning of 2022. Although they have remained consistent in the last few months, Freddie Mac estimates rates will be on the rise again, reaching as high as 6 percent.

According to Freddie Mac's primary mortgage survey, an article from The New York Times reported a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.23% in early June, up from 2.96 percent the same week in 2021.

Read Full Article Here

Give us a call today to start your credit repair journey!
Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (804) 823-9601 | (800) 648-5157
mail@creditrestorationinstitute.com

June Newsletter 2022

When you take out a mortgage, what does that do to your credit?

Credit reporting agencies are known to use a short-term ding on your credit score, followed by a significant boost once they see a consistent pattern of regular on-time payments. A mortgage loan can temporarily lower your credit score until you can prove you are capable of handling a large sum of debt.

On average it takes about 5 months to get your credit score back on-track. It is recommended to focus on making consistent on-time payments and keeping other debt responsibilities to a minimum. Remember, not all debt is bad debt and eventually your mortgage will manifest into good debt.

Read the full RocketHQ article here.

These are REAL results!

Our custom credit disputes leverage the consumer protection laws and the credit bureaus’ automated codes to help remove or correct any unverifiable items.

As a client, we dispute accounts with the bureaus and creditors on your behalf. Using our years of experience, we utilize the tools you need to move your case forward and the results you are looking for.

You too can improve your creditworthiness.

Read More About Credit Worthiness Here




Are you ready to make a big purchase but want to take a deeper look into your credit first? You're not alone.

Our credit consulting services play a huge role in separating CRI from others. Our ongoing credit consultation service helps you ensure that you’re making the best choices.

We want you to know that you can count on the information we provide. Call us today for more information.

Join Our Workshop

Topic
Building Credit 101: Tips for the Small Business Owner

Description
You’ll learn credit restoration tips, credit building strategies, the importance of personal credit, and more. Whether you’re considering startup costs or new expansion strategies, establishing a strong credit profile can help ensure your immediate and future business plans are successful.

Guest Speaker: Robert Linkonis, Executive Director, Credit Restoration Institute

Time: Jun 29, 2022 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Click here to register

Continued Mortgage Trends

According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates continue to fall but they still remain above 5% fueling an ongoing problem for buyers trying to break into the market.

In a recent article from CNN they reported on numbers from Freddie Mac showing that at the end of May 2021, a buyer who put 20% down on a $375,500 home, financed the rest with a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with an average interest rate of 2.95% would have a $1,258 monthly mortgage payment that included principal and interest.

Today, if a homeowner bought the house at the same price with an average rate of 5.10% they would pay $1,631 a month in principal and interest. That is $373 more each month and $134,140 more in cumulative interest payments over the life of the loan , according to numbers from Freddie Mac. According to CNN "For many people, that several hundred dollars in additional payment a month is the difference between deciding whether to buy a home or rent."

Read the full article here

Wishing all the awesome father's out there a
Happy Father's Day!

Give us a call today to start your credit repair journey!
Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (804) 823-9601 | (800) 648-5157
mail@creditrestorationinstitute.com

Fill out this easy form on our website

May Newsletter 2022

 Wishing all the wonderful mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day!

Home prices have skyrocketed by nearly 20% over the last year and mortgage rates have risen faster over the past three months than they have in decades. But the high cost to buy a home is not the only obstacle prospective buyers are facing.

Other hurdles include a lack of available homes for sale that fit the buyer's criteria, bidding wars, and failing to have enough money for a down payment, according to a new study from the National Association of Realtors and Morning Consult.

"Record-high home prices and record-low inventory have made the home buying process exceedingly difficult," said Jessica Lautz, NAR's vice president of demographics and behavioral insights. "Our study shows that, while the inventory crisis is affecting potential buyers of every race, nearly all home buyers agree that homeownership is still an important part of the American Dream."

Read the full CNN article here.

These are REAL results!

In just a few short months we've gotten our client's credit from low 630's to 730's. That's over 100 points in 6 months! When shopping for a home, a credit score shouldn't be the reason one can't buy a home, especially with the right preparations and tools.

You too can improve your creditworthiness.

Are you mortgage-ready? Do you know what your credit score is? Are you a first-time home buyer?

Using our credit repair services prior to contacting a loan officer can ensure the home buying process goes smoothly and painlessly. Even if you do have decent credit, having an even better credit score can increase your chances of better rates. Call us on (804) 823-9601 or (800) 648-5157 today for more information!

"163 points in just two months"

These results speak for themselves!

Credit Restoration is the truth! Robert and his team know what they're doing!!!! Trust the process and you will see things happen. They update you once a month on your progress. My husband's scores have jumped 163 pts in 2 months. Their customer service and team are always friendly, and willing to answer any questions you may have. Just like the other gentlemen stated, this jump put us back in the mortgage approval range. The monthly payments are a small investment on a huge return!! Thank You Credit Restoration!!!!!!

– S. Ford

A Message from Federal Student Aid

"In response to the COVID-19 emergency, we paused loan payments and set interest rates to 0% for eligible federal student loans. On this page, you can find out if your loans are eligible and how this relief affects your loans."

Read the full announcement here

Give us a call today to start your credit repair journey!

Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (804) 823-9601 | (800) 648-5157

mail@creditrestorationinstitute.com