Canisius College is pleased to announce the establishment of an Employer Assisted Housing Program designed to assist Canisius employees purchase homes in designated areas in the City of Buffalo.  Canisius wishes to encourage home ownership in the city, particularly in the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to the college. Canisius believes that the EAH will facilitate home ownership and develop greater employee loyalty.  The Canisius EAH is structured as a forgivable loan program; that is, loans will be made to qualifying employees to assist with down payments and closing costs for residences in eligible neighborhoods.  The loan will be forgiven over five years at the rate of 20 percent per year provided the employee remains employed at Canisius.

Program Benefits 

1. The Loans.  Canisius will provide qualifying employees with loans in the following amounts:

a. Five percent (5 percent) of the purchase price or $5,000, whichever is less for homes in the Eligible Area (defined below); OR
b. Ten percent (10 percent) of the purchase price or $7,000, whichever is less for homes in the Target Neighborhoods (defined below).
The loans may be used for down payment or closing costs.  The loans will be secured by a second mortgage lien on the residence purchased until all of the conditions of the mortgage have been satisfied.  The cost of preparing and recording that mortgage will be paid by the employee at the time of closing.  The loans will be forgiven over a period of five years from the date of the loan, with 20 percent being forgiven on the first anniversary of the loan, 20 percent on the second anniversary and so on.  Forgiveness will be calculated and applied on the anniversary date of the loan and only if the employee remains employed by Canisius on that date.  In the event the employee leaves the employ of the college, sells the home or moves out of the home before the fifth anniversary, the portion of the loan that remains outstanding shall become due and payable on a monthly amortization schedule with per annum interest at the Prime Rate then in effect sufficient to repay the loan in full by the fifth anniversary date.



2. Eligible Neighborhoods.  In order to qualify for this program, an employee must purchase a one or two family home as his/her primary residence in one of the following areas (Eligible Area):

a. The Delaware Council District
b. The Masten Council District
c. The portion of the North Council District bounded by Richmond Avenue to the west and Auburn Avenue to the south, then north to Forest Avenue, east to Elmwood Avenue north to Hertel Avenue.

In addition to the Eligible Area, the enhanced loan benefit will be available to an employee who purchases a one or two family home as his/her primary residence in three target neighborhoods (Target Neighborhoods) which are:

a. The Parkside Community Historic District
b. The Hamlin Park Historic District
c. The portion of the Linwood-Oxford neighborhood bounded by West Delavan Avenue to the north, West Ferry Street to the south, Main Street to the east and Linwood Avenue to the west.

3. Eligible Employees.  All full time employees of Canisius College are eligible to participate subject to the following:

a. Existing employees of Canisius and new hires moving to Buffalo from outside the eight counties of Western New York will be eligible immediately to participate in the program; OR
b. New hires from within the eight counties of Western New York may not participate until six months after their date of hire.
Employees may take advantage of the benefits under this program only once during the time they are employed at Canisius, regardless of whether that employment is interrupted at anytime or for any reason.  First time home buyers shall be required to attend a home buying seminar sponsored by one of the Program Partners (see below).



4. Program Partners.  The initial Program Partners for the Canisius EAH are M&T Mortgage Corporation and Hunt Real Estate Corporation.  The benefits offered to Canisius employees by the participating partners are described in the appendix hereto.  Employees seeking a loan under the EAH must obtain a commitment for a mortgage through either M&T or Devere Capital Corporation and the fact that an employee is eligible for a loan under the EAH does not necessarily mean that the employee will qualify for a mortgage from those lenders.  Employees should note that benefits from the Program Partners may not be restricted to homes purchased in the Eligible Area or the Target Neighborhoods.  Thus, any Canisius employee purchasing a home may be eligible for these benefits even though the employee may not qualify for the loan under the EAH.

5. Additional Restrictions. The number of loans to be made in any fiscal year will be limited and employees are eligible to participate on a first-to-qualify basis.  The availability of Loans shall be decided by the President of the college and may change from year to year and within fiscal years.  The program is being introduced on a trial basis and will be subject to periodic review and evaluation.  It may be discontinued at any time but discontinuance would not affect the terms and conditions of any outstanding loans. 

6. Tax Consequences.  Benefits under the program are taxable income to employees in the year received.  In the case of a forgivable loan program, the amount of the loan forgiven each year is taxable as income to the employee and will be reported as such by the college.  Employees receiving benefits will be asked to make arrangements with the payroll department to adjust their withholding amounts, if necessary, to account for this additional income.  The benefit is subject to FICA tax as well.

M&T BANK PROGRAM PARTNER BENEFITS

  • Canisius College employees will be eligible for one of the following conventional mortgage products offered by M&T:
    • 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage (loan to value ratio up to 95 percent)
    • Biweekly Mortgages (loan to value ratio up to 95 percent)
    • Fannie Mae HomeStyle loan
    • Get Started Mortgage (loan to value ratio of 97 percent, with 1 percent down from the borrower's own funds)
  • FHA and VHA guaranteed loans are not eligible under this program.
  • M&T will provide a dedicated consultant and coordinator for all Canisius College employee inquiries and applications.
  • M&T will offer a home buying seminar for first time home buyers.
  • M&T will offer free pre-approvals for home buyers (a $45 value) and will offer $100 off closing costs.
HUNT REAL ESTATE BENEFITS
Hunt Real Estate offers everything you need for the purchase, sale and ownership of your home. We provide one-stop resourcing to assist you with all your homeownership needs. Through your affiliation with Canisius, Hunt Real Estate is dedicated to providing quality service as well as discounts and savings on various products and services.

Home-Link
Home-Link by Hunt Real Estate will save you time and offer you your own Personal Move Coordinator. Your PMC will support you with all your moving services, including skilled craftsman to assist with remodeling or repair and many other services that homeowners need before, during and after the move.

For your convenience we have a network of contractors that have been screened, are licensed and insured and capable of doing virtually all your home improvements.

Services range from landscaping and snow removal to total renovations. Best of all you don't have to worry about "fly by night" contractors. We make sure the work is done to contract specifications.

Hunt Real Estate provides a $1,000 guarantee that all the work is done correctly. If the work on your property has not been completed to the specifications outlined in the contract, we make sure it is corrected. (Some restrictions apply).

Insurance
Our insurance associates evaluate policies and rates from several different companies to find homeowner's, renter's automobile and life insurance policy that best suits you needs.

World Wide Customer Care
When transferring to another part of the country or just moving across town we have the experts in place. Through our worldwide network of brokers, we can provide any information you need to explore your homeownership options, the quality of life and educational systems in your destination city.

Senior Preference
Senior Preference is dedicated to providing quality service to your family members who are making the transition for homeownership to retirement or supportive living. As the lifestyles change we will provide a complete needs analysis from start to finish and provide all or most of the services you require.

Only at Hunt Real Estate
We are the only Real Estate Broker in Western New York that will describe and put in writing all services you receive when you list your home with us. And remember you only pay when we successfully sell your home.