EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS - A Little Help Towards Closing Costs From Your Employer?
COMPANIES ACROSS THE CHICAGO AREA OFTEN OFFER A BIT OF HELP TO THEIR EMPLOYEES WANTING TO BUY A HOME!
Since the beginning of the year, as the Housing Market in Chicago has continued to muddle through, many first-time homebuyers have expressed interest in taking advantage of the Obama Administration's First-Time Home Buyer Incentive Program. That initiative offers as much as $8,000 in income tax credit to qualified buyers, who must close before December 1st of this year.
However, for a far longer time, many larger employers across Chicago and in the suburbs have offered similar monetary incentives to their employees - whether or not they have owned a home before. Chicago Tribune Reporter Sharon Stangenes provides further details in her Tribune story today.
Companies offering Employee Housing Assistance Initiatives range from Northbrook IL-based Allstate Insurance, to the University of Chicago, in the Hyde Park Neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. The purpose of these HR programs is to attract and keep strong employees. Although the amount of assistance offered varies from corporation to corporation, the incentives can help prospective home buyers pare their closing costs and expenses.
Loyola University, with its main campus in the Rogers Park Neighborhood of Chicago, offers qualified employees a forgivable loan with a five-year term, for as much as $5,000, to be used toward housing expenses. The loan need not be paid back if the employee stays with the University until the end of the five-year term. If the employee leaves before the end of the loan term, a pro-rated portion of the loan need be paid back.
Employees of the University of Chicago can receive similar forgivable loans up to $7,500 if they buy a new home or condominium within certain targeted Chicago Neighborhoods near the University. Charter One Bank does not dictate home purchase location, but they have found their Assistance Program to those employees looking for a new home, with loans ranging between $5,000 and $8,000, have helped them recruit and keep top talent.
Unfortunately, many employees are not aware of their company's home purchase Assistance Programs, and the need to contact their Human Resources Departments for the details. Sometimes, more detailed screening, and buyer counseling, by outside housing assistance organizations, such as Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, is required.
But, these days, every bit of homeowner assistance is valued - a buyer just needs to take the initiative to look for it!
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
