The complete package: smart employee benefits now include homebuyer benefits.

• Author: Ballard, David
• Position: Money Talk

In a competitive job market, (Utah currently has a 3.5 percent unemployment rate), companies are coming up with creative ways to attract and keep employees. One of those innovative approaches is adding homebuyer benefits to their current employee benefits.

Should employers be stepping into this category? HR professionals certainly seem to think so. In fact, the Society for Human Resource Management said, "employees who own their own home are less likely to call in sick, miss work, or job hop."

Purchasing a home is among the top stressful experiences for employees. In most cases, it's their single largest purchase with hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to the decision.

According to the MetLife Annual Study of Employee Benefit trends, 78 percent of employers report that employees are less productive at work when worrying about personal financial problems. And over 92 percent of Americans admit to losing sleep over financial worries. This is why Utah companies are teaming up with top real estate and mortgage professionals to create smart employee benefits that include homebuyer benefits to help eliminate stress when purchasing or refinancing a home.

With homebuyer benefits, employees have access to a dedicated team of professionals in the real estate and mortgage industries. The benefits provide training and one-on-one support through the home buying process. Your employees will receive advice when searching for a home, getting pre-approved for a loan, underwriting, processing and then receiving final funding. It provides employee discounts at closing, with home inspections, moving recommendations and more.

One of the best parts about homebuyer benefits is that they come at no or little cost to the employer. Depending on the customized level of the program, it is a complete value add for both the employee and employer. If you are a company trying to be competitive and want to attract and retain top talent, take a look at adding the homebuyer benefits program to your employee benefits.

How to reduce stress when buying a new home

As part of the homebuyer benefits program, here are a few quick tips for homebuyers:

Have an idea of what home you want

If you don't know what you want, you're going to spend a lot of time looking at houses that just don't match your needs. Provide a...