The Wall Street Journal published information about “Green Mortgages” last fall. While the concept of “Green Mortgages” is not new (President Carter first required legislation for them in the 1980s) the number of products available, and the interest in them, is a growing trend.
FHA (and VA) offer Energy Efficient Mortgages purchases and refinances. For those purchasing a new home, an Energy Efficient, green mortgage, simply is a program that provides you a money-saving discount as a reward for buying a home that meets particular energy-efficiency standards. This makes it easier for you to qualify for a loan.
If you already own a property and are considering upgrading the Energy Efficency Factors in your home, making energy-efficient improvements FHA allows additional borrowing power.
Green Mortgages work off the the principle that a more energy-efficient home means lower utility bills and, as a result, greater expendable monthly income, qualifying a prospective homeowner to buy a more expensive house.
Officially, the mortgages often are called Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs) or Energy Improvement Mortgages (EIMs). The common baseline used to determine if a property qualifies requires an energy rating. This national standard, “allows a homebuyer to easily compare the energy performance of the homes being considered.
There are two types of ratings:
- Projected ratings – Ratings performed prior to the construction of a home or prior to the installation of energy improvements to an existing home.
- Confirmed ratings – Ratings completed using data gathered from an on-site inspection, which could include performance testing of the home.
Confirmed ratings involve an on-site inspection of a home by a residential energy efficiency professional, a home energy rater. Home energy raters are trained and certified by a RESNET accredited home energy rater training provider.”
For more information on qualifying for a Green Mortgage in NC, contact Steve and Eleanor Thorne, we offer the best mortgage rates in Raleigh, NC 919-649-5058
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