Last year, Catie Lasley, age 29, became the first in her family to purchase a house. Throughout her childhood, her parents had always rented apartments. While attending college, she lived in a dorm. Even after she was married, she and her husband rented an apartment.
Apartment living was their way of life, until last year when the couple had a baby girl. Lasley says they wanted their daughter to have a stable home life instead of moving from apartment to apartment. But there was one obstacle standing in their way: money. The couple didn't have enough cash for a down payment and closing costs.
Then she learned about the assisted housing program offered by her employer, the University of Kentucky in Lexington. That program helped the couple afford the house of their dreams.
"I came across this program and it looked like a real option for us," says Lasley, the university's assistant manager of employment. "It was a tremendous help to us in getting the quality of life we wanted. That's a great thing to say about this university-that it helped me purchase my home."
Affordable housing has been a hot topic among campus recruiters for many years. Sky-high prices, housing shortages, and cheaper homes in crumbling neighborhoods have been a turn-off for many job seekers and a source of frustration for recruiters. Not willing to lose top talent to competing schools, some institutions are going all out by reaching out to community partners in creative ways.
UK, for instance, formed an official town/gown partnership with the city of Lexington to build character within the downtown area and preserve old neighborhoods, explains Bart Miller, the institution's benefits manager. Its three-year-old Live Where You Work program offers a loan that's five percent of a house's purchase price-up to $15,000-to any faculty member who has a signed contract or staff member who has worked there for at least 90 days. The loans are forgiven at 20 percent each year and can also be used for renovation. But the homes must be located in designated areas close to the university, which also helps revitalize the surrounding community.
Miller says eligible employees must also complete a homeownership education program paid for by the university at discounted rates. Local counseling agencies offer a crash course on topics such as home inspections, credit maintenance, budget planning, home maintenance, and creative finance options.
So far, only five people have taken advantage of the program. But that will change over the next year as new housing developments begin to pop up in the community.
"We understood from the beginning when we introduced this program that it would be kind of slow," he says, adding that many of the area's fixer-uppers are at least 30 years old. "Many people are waiting for newer housing to become available."
California Dreamin'
Over the years, schools have assisted staff or faculty with housing in various ways. Besides offering forgivable loans for houses near campus, some reserve housing at discounted prices for moderate- to low-income families. Others offer subsidized rental housing, low-interest loans, first- and second-mortgage programs, or ground-lease options, where faculty lease the land for a nominal fee and buy the house at below-market rates.
The driving force behind such efforts has always been the need for top talent. Back in the late 1990s, for example, many Ph.D.s were actively being recruited by private employers that offered more pay and better opportunities, creating a nationwide shortage.
Like others around the country, The California State University system campuses were hit hard. Attracting the best and brightest students became increasingly difficult, recalls Bill Dickerson, executive director at the CSU, Fullerton Housing Authority.
The Southern California region is among those with the highest housing costs in the nation, he says, adding that CSU supports 23 campuses, more than 35,000 students, and 1,000 tenured faculty. "All of a sudden, faculty members who are looking at different choices and opportunities say, 'Well, I can go to Kansas on a salary of about $65,000 or $70,000 and can afford to buy a home. I can go to Southern California and I can't even begin to think about owning a home on that salary.' "
