January Santa Clara County Housing Statistics
Green-improvement Loans May Cause Problems for Consumers
A story in the Press-Enterprise highlights some of the difficulties real estate agents and consumers are having when it comes time to refinance or sell a home with a HERO or PACE loan. The Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, program upgrades include HERO loans. The HERO program allows a homeowner to install “green” improvements at a low out-of-pocket costs, but with a payment program attached to a homeowner’s property-tax bill. Real estate professionals say well-meaning green energy loan and lease programs crafted to put idled contractors to work and pump up home values need to be scrutinized carefully. The new, energy-efficient products to lower utility payments and increase the value of a home are written into property tax bills as an added assessment, and payments can stretch out for up to 20 years. The cost, plus an administrative fee, and interest, is tax-deductible. But it also takes a first-lien position. The first-position is so important the Federal Hou...
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