Job Loss Protection Program to Help New Buyers

Incentives for buying homes are coming out of the woodwork like pre-inspection termites, and Realty USA of Clifton Park, New York is getting in on the frenzy.

Buyers will receive an insurance policy–paid for by a one-time $500 fee at the seller’s expense–to cover mortgage bills in the case of involuntary job loss or economic hardship.

Up to $1,800 in mortgage bills, for up to six months, will be available for coverage under the company’s Job Loss Protection Program.

Home buyers who lose their jobs within the first two years of their loan will qualify for the assistance, and pay nothing extra for the insurance. In addition to the protection, buyers will also receive six months of personal phone counseling and e-newsletters each month to help educate them to be savvy homeowners.

While only homes with agreeable sellers are available for the deal, it’s a good deal nonetheless, and provides a bit of a safety net–and some peace of mind–to new borrowers who may have financial security at the moment, but still worry about the months to come in this uncertain economy.

Still, plenty of current homeowners feel as if they’ve been dragged through hell and could use the assistance.  New programs like these may help increase some housing sales, but as long as both unemployment and home foreclosures continue to rise, the housing crisis is sure to continue.

Perhaps the housing market should team up with the Department of Labor and offer job-and-home purchase incentives, or a work-for-housing program. It works for the co-eds; why not suburbia?