Thursday, July 27, 2006
Employer Assisted Housing in DeKalb
Brian Grainger Construction of DeKalb recently held an informational meeting for DeKalb area businesses that discussed an exciting opportunity to provide housing assistance to employees. Grainger is working with the REACH-IL program to offset the costs of providing downpayment assistance. This allows employees to receive up to $10,000 in downpayment assistance ($5,000 from the employer, $5,000 from the State) while the employer receives up to $2,500 in state tax credits and the possibility of donation write-offs on federal taxes. Grainger is also working with the USDA to provide Rural Services loans to his employees. These loans can go as low as 1%, depending on family size, income, and expenses.
Grainger's proposal to local businesses includes assisting employers as they put these programs together to provide affordable housing to their employees. In addition, however, Grainger is going one step further by providing a $2,000 bonus to companies whose employees purchase a Brian Grainger-built townhouse. When all is said and done, this bonus from Grainger covers the rest of the out of pocket expenses that an employer would have to spend on the program. This results in an employee benefit program that has no cost to the employer.
In Grainger's proposal he was able to show that qualifying families could purchase a $162,000 townhouse with a monthly payment (for the first year) of just over $600 per month, including taxes and insurance. It was obvious from the presentation that Brian Grainger Construction is doing some great "out-of-the-box" thinking to assist his employees, as well as workers throughout the DeKalb-Sycamore area.
Grainger's proposal to local businesses includes assisting employers as they put these programs together to provide affordable housing to their employees. In addition, however, Grainger is going one step further by providing a $2,000 bonus to companies whose employees purchase a Brian Grainger-built townhouse. When all is said and done, this bonus from Grainger covers the rest of the out of pocket expenses that an employer would have to spend on the program. This results in an employee benefit program that has no cost to the employer.
In Grainger's proposal he was able to show that qualifying families could purchase a $162,000 townhouse with a monthly payment (for the first year) of just over $600 per month, including taxes and insurance. It was obvious from the presentation that Brian Grainger Construction is doing some great "out-of-the-box" thinking to assist his employees, as well as workers throughout the DeKalb-Sycamore area.
