Housing Benefits Ease the Trouble of Relocating

The stratospheric cost of Orange County housing means that many companies make relocation money and low-cost home loans integral parts of their executive compensation packages in order to snag--or keep--good managers.

At Wahlco Environmental Systems Inc., those loans--to just four officers--have topped $1.1 million in the past year.

And executives of the San Diego Gas & Electric Co. subsidiary didn’t even have to travel very far to benefit from the relocation program.

When the company moved its offices from San Diego to Irvine last year, it made 90-day, interest-free loans to help two executives purchase Orange County houses while they were trying to sell their San Diego residences. Vincent Middleton, president of a Wahlco subsidiary, got $212,467 and chief financial officer Charles Wilson received a loan of $397,652.

In addition, the company so far this year has made six-year, interest free mortgage loans to several executives, including Middleton, who received $175,000; Wilson, who got $87,500; William Pollock, president of another Wahlco subsidiary, who received $135,000, and corporate President Henry Huta, who got $112,500.