Anyone has experience with Imperial Home Mortgage? (August: appointed, real estate)

[cke73]

I spoke with them over the phone and they said I'm a perfect candidate for loan modification (currently has 5/1 ARM). I'm looking to do a loan modification with Countrywide (now BoA). They are experienced with negotiating with lenders. So hopefully, they can negotiate for a better interest rate than an inexperienced average person can (probably the only benefit). So I'm curious if anyone here has any experience with them?

[MamaToThree]

I don't have any experience with them, but are they the company that does a lot of advertising on the radio? Is it the guy with the semi-creepy voice? LOL I've thought about calling them, too, so i'd be interested to hear how others rate them.

[cke73]

Yea, that's them. The fee they charge is very high. But the person I spoke to says others are higher. Of course I have not research others yet. Not sure where to start so I'm curious if anyone here dealt with them before.

[quickfingerz]

You should speak to a HUD approved housing counselor before deciding to go with any company. If you're only looking to negotiate interest rate, you could try yourself to get down the the current fixed rate (as of 5/6/09 it's ~4.875)

[Jim Tearpak]

I paid them almost $2000 because I was such a good "candidate" after crunching numbers for three hours. So far, after four months, nothing has happened. I am very disappointed

[sammymocha]

I was about to meet with them. They also told me I'm an ideal candidate. I checked their license and it's valid, and there are no complaints. But I don't trust giving a big payment up front. I have googled them, and this is the only site I could find that is asking about them. Something seems fishy.

[DMenscha]

I don't understand why anyone, would pay something for something, they could do themselves.

[mheller]

I hope I am not over stepping my bounds; however, this is the guy with the semi creepy voice on the radio. As we explain to all our customers a modification can never be a guarantee and whether you do it yourself or have a modification company do it for you the outcome could be different or the same depending on the information. Whatever the reason your seeking a modification all I can say is you need to listen to our podcasts on www.kste.com key word “real estate talk” these are real clients that we have helped which truly could not have done a modification without our help. And contrary to what is being told out there a modification can take from 1 month to 1 year with no guarantees from your lender, what separates us is we keep going back to the lender sometimes the lender denies the file for whatever reason maybe they pull your credit and that information is inaccurate on your report we find out why it was denied correct the inaccurate information with the lender and resubmit back to the lender. The key is not to give up! This is WIN LOSE OR DRAW because in most cases if you don’t get a modification you will lose your home. Yes, it’s true not everyone will get a modification from there lender and yes you need to be careful which modification companies to use. There are NO false promises at Imperial Home Mortgage and the staff I have working for me cares about each and every person. I always say though we are only as good as our last modification, So Tearpaks should not be so disappointed as he could be early in the game and it sounds like a lot of preparation has been done already with his finances because we crunched the numbers in his words for 3 hours but again his lender makes the final call. Although one thing I do take exception to is the terms “IDEAL or Perfect candidate” these terms should not be used in my office, because if you were “ideal or Perfect” don’t you think your lender would just modify your loan? A good prospective canidate is usually the term and with sometimes an uphill battle. people need to remember a modification is not a right and your lender does not have to modify although people sometimes think they are entitled to one. We will make no claims that everyone who comes to us gets modified, the bottom line here is some of you came to us because you needed guidance and assistance on getting your modification through and thats what we do best. So do not just wait for something to happen either call your lender or call us. Loan modifications takes time and patience which we know in these times sometimes runs very short.

[Jim Tearpak]

I appreciate that Mr Heller actually responded to our comments. Since my post, Imperial has apparently kicked their aggressiveness up a notch. Thay have sent demands to C-Wide/BofA which, hopefully, will accelarate the process. Emotions and fear of losing one's home do drive how we express ourselves and my initial post was certainly driven by both. I'll keep you posted. Maybe August will produce some positive results. Go get 'em Mr. H!

[sammymocha]

I'm using them now, and am very impressed by Imperial's knowledge and professionalism. They really seem to know what they are doing. I had gone as far as I could on my own, and it was really difficult and time consuming. In the end I hit a brick wall since my loan is owned by Bank of America as an investor and there is no way to talk to them. Imperial is super-available for all my (frequent) questions, which for me is key. Another factor is they've been in the mod business for years and years, not just since the current crisis. So they have contacts and a track record and a process. So anyway we are hopeful. In contrast, I have a broker friend who is getting calls every day from companies who are starting to do mods even though they have no experience. They want him to moonlight with them to earn extra money doing mods. He won't do it because it's not his field of expertise and would be unethical. Apparently there's a lot of that out there. Hope that helps!