On Tuesday of this week the Federal Housing Finance Agency which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and over 50% of the mortgages in the United States, issued a statemet which effectively put at end to PACE programs at least temporarily. They instructed their lenders and loan servicers to adjust their underwriting criteria in any [...]
Archive for category AB811
In a response to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s latest instructions to their lenders, Placer County has suspended their mPower PACE program indefinitely. On Tusday of this week, the Federal Housing Finance Administration adjusted their underwriting criteria in communities that have PACE programs to reflect increased loan-to-value ratios and debt-to-income ratios on all properties regardless of [...]
In the last few months we have heard a lot of discussion on upcoming home performance incentive programs that will be offering great opportunities for homeowners to increase the comfort and efficiency of their homes. Whether it’s PACE , utility programs or the Home Star legislation, interested consumers and members of my industry have been [...]
There was a good article in the New York Times today concerning the effects on home owners and small businesses caused by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s position on the nation’s PACE programs. PACE stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy. Under the financing programs, a local government borrows money through bonds or other means, and then uses [...]
Placer County’s popular mPower Placer financing program has hit a roadblock as a result of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s May 5th letters to companies that sell and service their loans. The letters contained instructions that prohibited brokers from closing any loan that gave another entity priority lien status over a Fannie or Freddie mortgage. The [...]
A debate is brewing in Washington D.C. between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nations two largest mortgage lenders and proponents of PACE or Property Assessed Clean Energy programs like California’s AB811. If you recall from previous articles on this site, PACE programs provide loans to property owners to fund energy efficient and renewable energy upgrades [...]
California First is a statewide program adopted earlier this year in Sacramento allowing property owners to participate in the state’s AB811 program, providing financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrade to their properties. California First is an example of a Property Assessed Clean Energy or PACE program. Here are some of the basics of how [...]
The EPA has many programs to encourage the reduction of energy use through education and rebates such as Energy Star. Now after a three year development and public comment period they have released their new Water Sense for Single Family Homes specifications. Like the Energy Star for homes program, participation is voluntary. Certification requires the use [...]
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District was awarded $36 million in federal stimulus grants on Thursday, according to an article released yesterday by the Sacramento Business Journal. The Department of Energy grant funds are to help SMUD customers improve their home’s energy efficiency, which in turn will help the utility reduce demand on its system and help [...]
According to an article today in the Sacramento Business Journal Sacramento County has received $16.5 million in state funds to start their AB811 energy efficient loan program. If you haven’t read my previous posts on the subject, AB811 was a bill enacted last year to allow California cities and counties to set up special assessment districts [...]
On January 12th of this year the Sacramento City Council adopted a resolution to join the CaliforniaFirst program to provide financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements to property owners. CaliforniaFIRST is a statewide program instituted by…
A little background on Sacramento’s involvement in AB811. In the summer of 2008 City Council member Kevin McCarty requested City staff research the creation of a voluntary property assessment district to fund energy improvements and solar installations for City property owners. As a result the City formed a regional collaborative with Sac County, Yolo County, cities within those counties, SMUD and Valley Vision to pursue developing an AB811 program.
I explained in my last post the basics of the an AB811 type assessment program and how it might work. The question is how would our local governments come up with the money to lend property owners? Have any other cities or counties been successful in implementation of this type of program? One of the [...]
For those of you that haven’t heard yet, the state legislature passed assembly bill AB811 in July 2008. The Contractual Assessments for Energy Efficiency Improvements bill would allow local governments to establish tax assessment districts to help property owners finance the installation of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements to their homes.
