Middlebury College Employee Benefits are described in the Employee Handbook chapter of the College Handbook. Because faculty are employed on a contractual basis, specific provisions relating to vacation and sick leave as stated in the Employee Handbook chapter may not be applicable to them. Conversely, faculty may be eligible for specific provisions that are not applicable to general employees.
1. Housing Policy and Program
The purpose of the Middlebury College housing program is to provide temporary housing for faculty and certain administrative staff positions at the time of hire. Housing is meant to be short-term in duration. Employees are encouraged to avail themselves of the Home Purchase benefit as soon as they are eligible. (See below, Section 1.b)
a. College Housing Loan Program
The College's second mortgage program is designed to help eligible faculty and administrative staff to purchase or build a home close to campus. The College desires to have its employees become an integral part of the local community. The primary purpose of the program is to attract and retain faculty and administrative staff members at the College, particularly during economic periods when interest rates and housing costs may prevent or discourage individuals from accepting positions in our area. Furthermore, when employees purchase their own homes, the need for the College to purchase houses in the area is reduced. Home ownership in neighborhoods fosters a stronger sense of community than rental by tenants.
b. Home Purchase
i. Eligibility
Faculty: members of the faculty must have an appointment with tenure or have successfully passed their First Review to be eligible to participate.
Administrative officers of the College are eligible to participate after four years of service with the College or at the time of recruitment.
Physical education coaching staff who have faculty ranking are eligible after five years of service.
Exceptions for faculty and physical education members are granted by the provost. Exceptions for administrative officers are granted by the treasurer.
ii.
Conditions
(a) The Loan
(i) The College requires a minimum of 5 percent cash down payment and a first mortgage equal to or greater than the College's second mortgage. The College's second mortgage is not to exceed $150,000. The College's mortgage may be written for a term of up to 30 years and will carry an interest rate 2 percentage points less than the rate of the first mortgage loan from the bank. The College's mortgage program does not charge points. All bi-weekly loan payments are made by payroll deduction.
(ii) In the event the employee ends his or her employment with the College, the second mortgage will become due and payable in full.
(iii) Security: The College loan must be secured by a second mortgage on the real estate. The spouse or other owners of the homes will have to sign the College note and mortgage.
(b) The House
(i)The house must be the primary residence of the employee receiving the loan, must be within a close commute (approximately ten miles) of Middlebury College, and must qualify for conventional financing. The house can be a single family dwelling, condominium unit or a two family owner occupied house. It need not be the employee’s first home purchase in the area, but each employee is eligible for the mortgage only once during his or her career at Middlebury. Exceptions to the ten-mile location may be granted under specific compelling circumstances; for example, if a spouse or partner’s employment involves commuting to Burlington or elsewhere.
(ii) New construction: Middlebury College does not participate in a construction loan but will participate in the permanent financing for the house. The College will confirm with the lender the College's willingness to participate in the permanent financing.
(c) Insurance
(i) The College must be named as an additional insured on the property coverage and the house must be insured for full value to cover all loans.
(ii) The College does not require, but recommends, that the employee carry life insurance in an amount sufficient to repay the second mortgage loan, in part because the loan will become due in the event of the employee's death.
(d) Credit and approval
(i) The College does not conduct its own credit check and loan underwriting. Instead, the College relies on the primary lender for these functions. The employee receiving the loan must supply the College with a copy of the commitment letter from the bank.
(e) Refinancing
(i) The College does participate in the refinancing of its second mortgage at the time the first mortgage is refinanced. Refinancing may only be for the remaining time of the original loan or equal to the term of the bank's refinancing whichever is less, i.e., if you have a 25 year mortgage and you refinance at 20 years you may only refinance for 20 years or if the bank refinances your 25 year mortgage at year 20 for 15 years, you may only refinance for 15 years.
(ii) Process
You should confirm your eligibility with the appropriate party and ask that he or she notifies the assistant treasurer. The first mortgage lender may want the College to confirm your second mortgage during the loan application process. You should provide to the Office of the Assistant Treasurer (extension 5504) two weeks in advance of closing the names and telephone numbers of your attorney and your loan officer so the College can prepare your paperwork in a timely manner. This provides the College time to discover potential closing issues before closing.
c. The College Rental Policy
i. The College attempts to operate its rental housing on a break-even basis, which in practice means that it is planned that anticipated income and projected expenses be equal for each fiscal year.
ii. Income, rather than expenses, initially determines a budget figure for rental housing, and that income in turn results from the setting of rents at a level compatible with those in the town of Middlebury. The rents are set by the College's own best professional judgment, i.e., the judgment of the assistant treasurer and director of business services, who is aware of real estate values, fair market values, and of the rental market itself. Tenants execute leases that call for payment of rent through payroll deduction.
iii. Expenses charged to the housing budget are the usual ones associated with rental properties. Water consumption and sewer charges are borne by the tenant.
iv. Renovations of houses newly acquired by the College for rental are charged against the operating budget and/or against rental housing reserves for maintenance, modernization, and replacement, both of which are funded by rental income. Therefore, at any particular time a given tenant may benefit from previous renters and will also be helping others in the future. In short, over a longer period the renters as a group sustain the ongoing expenses of the rental housing system. It should be made clear that the purchase price of houses added to the system represents a capital charge, and this charge is not met by income from renters.
v. The rental budget will indicate that maintenance is the largest item and the one most subject to adjustment. A prudent landlord scrutinizes the level of maintenance which he or she provides to insure the upkeep of the property. In the case of the College as landlord, there is also a strong interest that this level serve the comfort and well-being of its tenants. It is here finally that a level of rents, determined in relation to town rents, may need adjustment if the best interests of the College and the renters are not being served.
vi. Tenants must carry their own tenants' insurance to protect their own contents and provide liability coverage.