 |
|
|
|
|
City helps out with employee housing
By Jana Seshadri
Silicon Valley, renowned for its high-tech savvy, has also gained notoriety for its exorbitant housing rates. To retain skilled and efficient employees, many companies have realized it is crucial to provide them with affordable housing. Sunnyvale has taken the first step to help its public employees in this area.
Launched in October 2001, the Public Employee Housing Program assists public school teachers, childcare providers and city employees with their housing concerns and processes. People eligible to qualify under this program are employees of four school districts that serve the city of Sunnyvale, said Annabel Yurutucu, housing supervisor for Sunnyvale. Additionally, teachers at licensed childcare centers in Sunnyvale and teachers at childcare centers operated by school districts serving Sunnyvale and Sunnyvale city employees are eligible to participate in the program, she said.
"It is a three-pronged program," said Yurutucu.
Educating and training interested employees and familiarizing them with general housing issues and terminology constitutes the first part of the program, she said. The department has taken several steps to simplify the complexity of the home-buying process.
Yurutucu said the city has hired the Consumer Credit Counseling Services from San Francisco to create a curriculum and a series of specialized classes and training programs. The housing education program, a subset of the counseling services program, has scheduled different workshops through June for interested employees.
The first four-hour workshop, held on Feb. 16, was a first-time home buyer basic workshop, said Katrina Ardina, housing loan specialist for Sunnyvale.
"There seems to be a lot of interest," Ardina said. "The first workshop was well received and well attended."
The first part of the program also deals with realtors, Yurutucu said. Prospective homebuyers are trained and informed on real estate issues, forms and terminology, as well as on how to work with real estate agents. Renting issues are also tackled, because many young people in the workforce first rent before thinking of buying a home.
The second component of the housing program is the Security Deposit Loan Program for rental units. The department has reviewed the Below Market Rate program to find ways to expand its benefits and assist employees in obtaining rental housing, Yurutucu said.
The third and last part of the program is the homeownership component. Besides assisting homebuyers with loans that can be used for down payments, it will also create a monthly mortgage assistance program, Yurutucu said. The Down Payment Loan Program will be available in the summer, she added.
For more information about the program or about future workshops, call Katrina Ardina at 408.730.7451.
|
|
|
|
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
