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The National Association of REALTORS is partnering
with the Virginia Association of REALTORS and select lenders on a
campaign for employers and REALTORS to increase homeownership
opportunities for workforce families throughout Virginia. This
partnership is called Home From Work.
The
campaign focuses on assisting employers in
developing an employer-assisted housing (EAH) benefit to help their
employees purchase a home. The campaign strategy promotes
homeownership opportunities for workforce families by providing
access to housing information, comprehensive counseling, and
financial incentives.
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What is Employer-Assisted Housing (EAH)?
An
employer-provided benefit that helps employers achieve business
goals while helping employees with homeownership.
Under the Home from Work campaign, employers can
select from three EAH benefits that may help their employees achieve
the dream of homeownership:
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#1 – FREE Home Buying Workshops:
Employers can provide access to free home-buying workshops (or
brown-bag lunches) provided by REALTORS®
and
lenders. This component can help employees learn how to find and
afford suitable housing.
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#2 – One-on-One Housing Counseling:
Employers can sponsor in-depth housing counseling and education
benefits in partnership with a participating nonprofit
counseling agency. This component offers a more personalized and
comprehensive housing program to help employees overcome
barriers to homeownership.
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#3 – Financial Benefit:
Employers can provide financial benefits such as forgivable
loans, grants or matched savings to help their employees
purchase a home. This component helps employers address employee
recruitment, retention, and recognition issues.
Employers can chose
to offer all or any combination of these three benefits to their
employees. We will provide technical assistance, at NO COST, to
employers that want to develop a customized EAH plan that helps them
achieve their business goals.
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Why is EAH a great business tool?
Providing an EAH benefit can help
employers reduce turnover, leading to lower training and hiring
costs. In addition, EAH can increase loyalty and morale, support
bottom-line business goals, and strengthen links with the local
community.
Local governments can benefit by
gaining greater neighborhood stability, community
involvement, and economic development opportunities. Affordable,
decent housing attracts employees and supports growth.
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How can EAH
help meet business objectives?
These are the
Eight R's of Employer-Assisted Housing
1-
Recruitment
2- Retention
3-
Revitalization
4- Return
5-
Relationships
6- Reduced
Commuting
7-
Recognition
8- Right
Thing To Do
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You have two options:
1- You can call Dale Campbell at
804-516-3280, or
2- You can
email
me.
I will be happy to give you more
information about the Home From Work Campaign and how it can help
you and your employees.
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Examples
An employer may choose any or all
of the three EAH benefits:
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FREE home-buying
“educational” workshops for employees offered by REALTORS®
and lenders (***MOST POPULAR!***)
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Employer sponsors
one-on-one housing counseling seminars in partnership with a
nonprofit counseling agency
-
Direct financial benefits
such as a forgivable loan, matched savings, grants, or gifts
to help employees purchase a home
Most employers will choose the
FREE home-buying "educational" workshops.
Some will start with the FREE
home-buying "educational" workshops, and later begin to offer
smaller financial benefits, since the benefit can be as little or as
much as the employer desires.
Some examples of the larger
direct financial benefits that have been offered are below.
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Kaiser Permanente has a plan to
help recruit and retain new doctors who are buying their first home
in the area. They offer a low-interest secured loan for up to
$100,000. The loan is forgiven over time and fully forgiven in 10
years.
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Agilent helps new workers buy
housing by paying for closing costs, moving expenses, and even rent
on apartments for short-term use. They also supplement the
employee’s income for several years to help them with their mortgage
payments.
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The National Bank of Redwoods has
provided down payment assistance to an employee in exchange for a
share of the appreciation when the house is sold.
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Sonoma State University is
interested in building housing for employees on land it owns; when
the employee leaves the university, they would have to sell the home
with limited equity appreciation to keep the home affordable for
another university employee.
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Santa Rosa is considering
building housing for teachers on a site once planned for a school.
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Marin General and Novato
Community Hospital have a fund to offer low-cost, partially
forgivable three-year loans up to $150,000 for new doctors. They
also try to negotiate lower fees for their employees.
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The City of Novato gave a
priority to employees for homes in an affordable housing development
and also provide a low-interest second of up to $300,000 that must
be repaid on maturity or within five years of leaving employment.
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The North Main Water District
provides a loan up to $250,000 that does not have to be repaid until
the property is sold, at which time they get some of the
appreciation on the sale or, if there is no profit, they get paid
back principal but no interest.
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San Rafael provides city managers
who serve as section chiefs for emergency operations five-year
second mortgages up to 20 percent of the sales price.
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