An innovative, government-sponsored program aimed at funding
energy-saving home improvements has drawn praise from powerful
supporters, including President Obama. But complaints from a growing
number of homeowners, lenders and realtors in California suggest the
financing is making homes more difficult to sell and disrupting the
mortgage market.
More than 50,000 California households have
signed up for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing since
state legislators passed a law in 2008 allowing residents to borrow
money for such things as solar panels and energy-efficient windows. The
financing method, authorized by cities and counties, and funded by
venture capital-backed startups like Renovate America Inc, Renew
Financial LLC and Ygrene Energy Fund Inc, is then paid off through
special assessments on property tax bills.
Because the
improvements stay with the home, and subsequent owners will reap the
benefits of them, the assessments are intended to remain with the
property in the event of a sale.
But some homeowners trying to
sell their houses have found potential buyers scared off by the higher
tax assessments. And now realtors in the state are organizing against
PACE, saying it makes getting new mortgages much tougher and can leave
sellers stuck in their homes.
It seems to me that if these homeowners had paid for their renovations out of pocket they wouldn't have the problems they are having. I Usually Prefer KISS. Not the band, the acronym which translates to
"Keep it simple stupid".
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