By Colleen M. Farrell from the Daily Record

When Leonard Echevarria took a job with St. Pauly Textile Inc. eight years ago, he never thought buying his first home would be part of the benefits package.

About three years ago, the former renter confided in his boss, Joe DeGeorge, that he was looking to buy a home but he also harbored the fear that, at least financially, he wouldn’t be able to do so.

After a few months went by, DeGeorge – who founded St. Pauly 13 years ago – approached his employee, his general manager, and told him that he would give him a loan, interest free, if he found a house.

“I thought it was a joke at first, I didn’t believe it.” Ecchevarria said, “But, sure enough, six or seven months after that, I got my first home.”

He paid his boss back for his Ames Street home within 14 months, and the experience has been life changing.

“Being a homeowner has opened up a lot of doors for me,” Echevarria said. “I don’t have to worry about landlords nagging me. I can do what I want. … It changed the relationship of me and my wife for the better.”

DeGeorge calls Echevarria his “test case.” After that, DeGeorge helped six others to buy a home. He employs 19.

St. Pauly, itself, is an altruistic business that collects usable clothing, shoes, and linens, which are distributed across the country and throughout the world. More than 38 million items were given through St. Pauly to an estimated 3.5 million people in 2007, according to the company Web site.

DeGeorge saw another way to help out people closer to home.

“Quite a few years ago we tried to look at how we could make an impact for the people who work for us because, in a lot of case, they’re not looking for a handout, they’re looking for a hand up.” He said. “You get to know people because we are a family - run operation and I wanted to try to find a way we could help them because we know them personally and there is a bond between us and the employees.”

DeGeorge typically pays anywhere from $15,000 to $18,000 on each deal. He works with his accountant, his attorney and Bernie Fallon, broker of Fallon Associates, on every transaction. All take a commission, but it’s minimal, DeGeorge said.

Employees agree to pay back the amount they borrow over a certain period of time. The money is deducted from their weekly paychecks and any tax refunds they receive are applied to the principal, DeGeorge says.

To qualify, workers must have been with the company for two years and in good standing. One employee who benefited has since left the company, but he continues to make his payments.

DeGeorge’s most recent deal took place last week.

“It cost almost $18,000 for us to put the deal together; however, I know that, come the next 20 years, that family’s life is going to be changed,” he said.

The help DeGeorge provides definitely is unique, Fallon Said.

“How many zero interest loans have you heard about for real estate? Banks aren’t going to do that,” he said.

The endeavor helps the new homeowners to build equity and fix their credit histories and, in many instances, stabilize both the families’ lives and the neighborhoods where they live, Fallon said. He and DeGeorge connect the new homeowners with other programs, such as related City of Rochester grants, that help with the home owning process.

“These guys and their families are so happy,” Fallon said. “To be thinking about owning a piece of the American dream, [to see] the looks on their faces, makes you feel good when they get into it.”

Echevarria has taken a cue from his boss’ playbook and is paying it forward: He recently bought a home for his brother, who moved in on March 1 under a arrangement similar to the one he had with DeGeorge.

“I liked the way I felt when they did it for me,” he said. “I figured, ‘Hey, I got the opportunity to do it for somebody, let me do it for my brother.’ So I did.”

Echevarria won’t ever forget what his boss did for him.

“Some people don’t even believe me,” he. “It’s rare you see an employer who would do that and, to this day, I’ve never met one but Joe.”

DeGeorge said he hopes to see all of his employees become homeowners.

“You’ll see in someone’s eye when they come in the next day after signing their papers, and … they’re walking a little bit taller and you realize you’ve changed their life for the better.”