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.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Homebuyer Education 2006
The Coalition office has been a very active place lately. Our homebuyer education classes are occurring much more regularly, allowing greater flexibility to those who are taking the classes. The homebuyer education classes now happen every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m.
With the new flexibility is a new curriculum. We are now using the Realizing the American Dream materials that are produced by NeighborWorks. This has caused us to increase our classes from four to five. The additional class gives us the opportunity to cover more material and focus more intensely on many of the areas of homeownership. We are very excited about the changes that have been occurring in this area of our work!!
As if changes to the times and curriculum were not enough, we are now offering the classes in Spanish on a regular basis. The first two Saturdays of each month are dedicated to providing this service. We are rotating the class locations between the Coalition office and the Alerta office in Belvidere.
Finally, our staff is now 100% certified for the classes. All of our staff have completed the required training for teaching the classes. Anna received the training in early April, taking the training class and the exam in Spanish. This will help ease the class demands for all of us by spreading out the teaching responsibilities.
With the new flexibility is a new curriculum. We are now using the Realizing the American Dream materials that are produced by NeighborWorks. This has caused us to increase our classes from four to five. The additional class gives us the opportunity to cover more material and focus more intensely on many of the areas of homeownership. We are very excited about the changes that have been occurring in this area of our work!!
As if changes to the times and curriculum were not enough, we are now offering the classes in Spanish on a regular basis. The first two Saturdays of each month are dedicated to providing this service. We are rotating the class locations between the Coalition office and the Alerta office in Belvidere.
Finally, our staff is now 100% certified for the classes. All of our staff have completed the required training for teaching the classes. Anna received the training in early April, taking the training class and the exam in Spanish. This will help ease the class demands for all of us by spreading out the teaching responsibilities.
