FAQ
How Does Home Equity Guard Work?
How Can I Purchase a Home Equity Guard HEP Contract?
How Much Does a Home Equity Guard HEP Contract Cost?
What is a Home Price Index?
Who is Home Equity Guard?
How Do I know Home Equity Guard Will Be Able to Make All of the Payments For My Contract in the Future?
Is Home Equity Protection a Form of Insurance?
Are There Monthly Payments?
How Much of my Home’s Value Can I Protect?
How Long Does a Home Equity Guard Contract Last?
What Happens When the Home Equity Guard Contract Ends?
What is the Tax Treatment of the Payments You Receive Under a Home Price Shield Contract?
Will Home Equity Guard Ever Take Over Control of My Home?
What Happens if I Default on My Mortgage and/or the Home Goes into Foreclosure?
What Happens if I Short Sell My Home?
How Much are the Closing Costs?
Do Townhomes, Condominiums, and co-ops Qualify for a Home Equity Guard Contract?
Do Multi-Family Homes Qualify for a Home Equity Guard Contract?
Can I Buy a HEP Contract for a Rental Property or My Second Home?
Will New Construction Qualify for a Home Equity Guard Contract?
How Does Home Equity Guard Work?
Home Equity Guard Inc. is a leading provider of Home Equity Protection (HEP) contracts in United States. HEP contracts are a risk management product that protects the financial investment of American homeowners. HEP contracts work by paying out cash compensation to homeowners who sell their homes at a time when local real estate prices have declined since the HEP contract was purchased. The amount paid is based on the change in the Case Shiller Index which measures the change in local house prices across major metropolitan centres including Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington D.C.
Example:
Purchase a home in 2010 for $200,000. The Case Shiller home price index value is at 100 points.Sell your home in 2015. The market has declined by 10%. The Case Shiller home price index has fallen by 10% to 90 points. Sell the home for $180,000. Home Equity Guard makes you a payment of $20,000 (10% x $200,000). The homeowner is protected from the financial loss they incurred on the sale.
How Can I Purchase a Home Equity Guard HEP Contract?
By clicking on the “Request a Quote” link above, we will contact you directly to discuss your needs.
How Much Does a Home Equity Guard HEP Contract Cost?
The contract costs 3% of the property’s value. This amount is paid to Home Equity Guard when the contract is bought. To make the product more affordable, the cost of the contract can be repaid to the bank as part of the mortgage.
Example:
To protect a property worth $200,000 the HEP premium would cost $1,500 (3% X $200,000).
This adds approximately $30 per month in repayment costs on a $200,000 interest and principle mortgage repaid over 30 years at 5% per annum. On average, the HEP contract costs approximately $15 per additional $100,000 of coverage. In other words, the premium would cost about $45 per month on a $300,000 mortgage, $60 per month on a $400,000 mortgage and so on.
The home price indices we use to measure the change in home prices are published by Standard & Poor’s, a trusted name in American Business. You can learn more about the index by clicking here: Case Shiller Price Index. The index is calculated by a 3rd party. Home Equity Guard has no influence on the calculation of the index.
Home Equity Guard Inc. is a privately held company based in Washington DC. It is managed by a team of sophisticated professionals with years of experience in finance, insurance, law and real estate investments. Our team is now offering Home Equity Protection contracts to retail customers. These types of products have been available to institutional investors for over 20 years. We are proud to be bringing this same great product to US Home Owners.
<<< back to top
How Do I know Home Equity Guard Will Be Able to Make All of the Payments For My Contract in the Future?
To meet its liabilities, Home Equity Guard exercises a range of risk management strategies including portfolio management, hedging, securitization and insurance.
Is Home Equity Protection a Form of Insurance?
In most states the Home Equity Guard product is a private business contract and is not regulated by the department of insurance. We encourage you to maintain traditional property insurance to protect yourself from loss from fire, flood, theft, accidents, etc. Home Equity Guard’s Home Equity Protection contract is not designed to cover traditional property risks—it is only designed to protect you from falling home prices and not natural or man-made disasters or accidents.
No. The Home Equity Guard premium is paid upfront. However, if you chose to you can finance your policy as part of your home purchase. We will work with your lender to help you get this set-up.
How Much of my Home’s Value Can I Protect?
We offer a wide variety of products to fit your individual needs. Please contact us so we can discuss what policy would be best for you.
How Long Does a Home Equity Guard Contract Last?
The HEP contract lasts untill you sell your home. Alternatively, if you have not sold your home, the contract expires 20 years after the date of purchase. We can also issue a tailor made contract to suit your specific needs.
What Happens When the Home Equity Guard Contract Ends?
The Home Equity Guard contract ends when you sell your home, at which time you will receive a payment from Home Equity Guard if the average home price in your areas has fallen since you entered into the contract.
What is the Tax Treatment of the Payments You Receive Under a Home Price Shield Contract?
Home Equity Guard does not give tax advice and every homeowner is encouraged to speak to their tax advisor for a full explanation of the tax treatment of a Home Equity Guard contract.
Will Home Equity Guard Ever Take Over Control of My Home?
No! Home Equity Guard will have no rights to your property of any type. Our polices are a simple contract based on the Home Price Index in relation to your policy premium. Your home will never be part of the contract.
What Happens if I Default on My Mortgage and/or the Home Goes into Foreclosure?
Home Equity Guard will only make a payment if you sell your home in an arms-length transaction. If you lose your home to the bank in a foreclosure proceeding, no payment will be made.
What Happens if I Short Sell My Home?
If you and your mortgage lender agree to a “short sale,” your Home Equity Guard payment, if any, will be made payable to the bank to help pay off your mortgage obligation. If the Home Equity Guard payment plus the sale price exceeds the amount you owe to the lender, you will receive any remainder due.
How Much are the Closing Costs?
The only cost of obtaining a Home Equity Guard Policy is the policy premium.
Do Townhomes, Condominiums, and co-ops Qualify for a Home Equity Guard Contract?
Yes, most single-family real estate dwellings qualify for an Home Equity Guard contract.
Do Multi-Family Homes Qualify for a Home Equity Guard Contract?
No, at the current time a home must be an owner-occupied, single-family home to qualify for a Home Price Shield contract.
Can I Buy a HEP Contract for a Rental Property or My Second Home?
No, at the current time a home must be an owner-occupied to qualify for a Home Equity Guard contract.
Will New Construction Qualify for a Home Equity Guard Contract?
Yes.
Stumble Upon
Del.icio.us
Buzz
