- OSC will provide Home Warranty, Job-Loss Protection and Homeowner's Insurance to home buyers in the national public-private program to acquire, repair and market REO properties acquired from HUD and other financial institutions and investor groups -

(BLACK PR WIRE)--ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OSC announced today that it has been selected by 24 Asset Management Corporation to provide three important buyer protection services designed for the recently-announced national Homeowner’s Assurance Program (HAP), a public-private partnership. HAP will include OSC’s Home Warranty and Job-Loss Protection programs at competitive rates.

All home buyers will also qualify for low-cost homeowner’s insurance that doesn’t require a credit check and can be added to the buyer’s monthly mortgage payments through a mortgage escrow account with the lender.

OSC is a specialist in financial risk management insurance services and products for lenders. The Homeowner’s Assurance Program is a public-private partnership between 24 Asset Management Corp. and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB®), the nation’s oldest African-American real estate trade association. Under HAP, investors are acquiring HUD REO properties from the HUD inventory and then renovating and marketing the homes at competitive prices.

It’s anticipated that these buyer protection features will help spur sales of the newly repaired or renovated homes acquired from HUD’s inventory. The HAP program also offers buyers reduced closing costs and competitively-priced mortgage loans.

Ted Lamb, chief operating officer of OSC (formerly the Overby-Seawell Co.) said, “In today’s challenging housing market, HAP has developed a platform of services that will help home buyers, financial institutions and the federal government reduce the large inventory of bank-owned residential real estate. This is the kind of initiative that will help to jump-start the residential housing market upturn, and it is a great incentive to buy a HAP renovated home.”

NAREB will provide the real estate infrastructure to drive the demand side of first time homebuyers and others who have been locked out of the home buying process. For more than 60 years, NAREB has participated in meaningful legal challenges and has supported legislative initiatives that ensure the availability of fair and affordable housing for all Americans.

The program’s beta test started in Atlanta late last year and, beginning in the second quarter of this year, the program will be rolled out into four additional markets: Los Angles, Houston, Miami and Baltimore. HAP has secured more than $1.2 billion from private investors for the acquisitions.

OSC, long-active in the REO market, has historically arranged for hazard and flood insurance on lender-owned homes and commercial real estate. OSC and its parent company, Breckenridge Insurance Group, market similar home warranty and job-loss protection products.

OSC will provide three insurance products designed for the HAP initiative:

•Home Warranty – HAP has arranged through OSC to provide buyers of REO properties with two year warranty coverage on major appliances and major structural defects. The program covers appliances including refrigerator, range, oven, air conditioning and heating, and water heater. In addition, the program will provide up to $10,000 for the repair of a major structural defect in the home discovered after it is purchased.

•Job-Loss Protection – For the first 12 months after a home is purchased, under HAP the home buyer will benefit from the OSC job-loss, mortgage protection program. If a home owner loses a job after purchasing the home, a fixed monthly benefit of up to $1000 per month for six months will be paid to the home buyer.

•Homeowner’s Insurance – Home buyers qualify for pre-approved homeowner’s property and liability insurance. The program requires no credit report and there is no approval or qualification process. It’s available to NAREB members and others who participate under the HAP program and the coverage and rate is guaranteed.

About OSC

OSC, a specialist in insurance and risk management services and products, offers a comprehensive range of portfolio protection and financial risk management services to both large and small institutions. OSC, with its parent company Breckenridge Insurance Group, augments its traditional collateral protection insurance coverage options with additional lending and insurance products including home warranties, job-loss protection and specialty insurance.

About the Homeowner’s Assurance Program (HAP)

The Homeowner’s Assurance Program is an industry-led, private solution to the national mortgage crisis. It is designed to serve the demand side of the homeownership solution across the country that has been negatively affected by the national mortgage crisis and the limited access to credit for new homebuyers.

About NAREB

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) has a vast network of industry professionals including: Realtists®, brokers, sales agents, appraisers, mortgage brokers, and loan officers as well as practical experts in pre and post counseling, loss mitigation, foreclosure, property management, housing construction, and development. NAREB will serve as the “boots on the ground” for HAP to provide the agent infrastructure to manage, market and dispose of non-performing loans and REO assets acquired under the HAP initiative to first time home buyers and other home buyers who are stuck in the process of purchasing a home.