Can An Energy Efficient Mortage Help Me Get The Home Of My DREAMS?

When  you are planning on buying your next home you are looking for many key things: Location, Schools, Amenities, and of course a home that fits your housing criteria.  In this "As Is" Housing Market, new home buyers need to use a little bit of imagination to be able to see beyond the "As Is" nature of the house that may fit their needs, but is not in the perfect condition that they were hoping for.

With the GoGreen Hybrid Loan program, you can literally turn ANY "As Is" house into your ideal home with many energy efficient as well as cosmetic upgrades like granite counter tops, new HVAC systems, new windows, etc.  All of these upgrade are 100% financed and your don't have to qualify for the funding with a debt to income ratio.

Don't let your perfect home slip between your fingertips because it is "As Is".  GoGreen Lending can help you and your Realtor turn any "As Is" house and make it your ideal, energy efficient and cosmetically appealing HOME.  For more information about how you can make the GoGreen Lending Hybrid Loan Program work for you, contact Dennis Fontes.  His contact information is available below this post.

Questions To Ask A Home Inspector

You can buy "As Is" Now! You can use this program how YOU want to! Appraisal is based on the contract price and the fix up costs of items needed in the home. Simplified 203K Streamline Loan. If your lender does not offer this kind of program...Dennis at GoGreen Lending does!

Why Use A 203K Streamline To Purchase Your Next Home?

1. You can buy "As Is" Now!
2. You can use this program how YOU want to!
3. Appraisal is based on the contract price and the fix up costs of items needed in the home. 
4. Simplified 203K Streamline Loan.
5. If your lender does not offer this kind of program...Dennis at GoGreen Lending does!

THE BRITISH ARE COMING - To Insulate America

Since 80+% of British residences have had some level of energy retrofit British companies offering energy efficiency improvements have decided that America is worth a re-visit. According to an article in the NY Times British companies such are Mark Group have established offices in various cities in the US such as Philadelphia. Given that Congress is still debating the proof of climate change (supported by partisan politics and significant lobbyist funds) British firms want to take advantage of the hit-and-miss US energy policies and grab as much of the $5 trillion (that's 't' as in too bad America) business opportunity as they can. Mark Group is already insulating homes in the Philadelphia area with plans for rapid expansion. Liberty Hall may be the Brits next target. Heck, with $5 Trillion they could buy Philadelphia and reduce our national debt.

SOLAR GROWTH IN 2010 - CA LEADS

'In calendar year 2010, approximately 880 megawatts (MW)1 of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems were installed in the U.S. (of which approximately 30% were residential), up from 435 MW installed in 2009, yielding a cumulative total of 2,100 MW (SEIA & GTM, 2011). California has been and continues to be the country’s largest market for PV, with nearly 1000 MW of cumulative capacity. California is also approaching 100,000 individual PV systems installed, more than 90% of which are residential.'

Lawarence Berkely Livermore Lab, April 2011

SENIOR DISCOUNTS - COST EFFECTIVE LIVING

10,000 plus Baby Boomers reach retirement age each day now that this population bulge from the post WWII years has aged. This means a serious reduction in income across all social-economic strata. Smaller incomes (have you ever looked at social security benefits?  Good luck with that.) means a higher percentage of income spent on Utilities. Which are not going down in the golden years, no matter where you live.

Solution: seniors or near seniors can make - here it comes - Cost Effective improvements to their homes to reduce their long-term financial burden while living in a more comfortable home - regardless of social status or home structure.

Look into Cost Effective Home Improvements.

1776 APPLIED TO 2011

Benjamin Franklin really was not thinking about our utility bills in 2011 when he coined the phrase, "A Penny saved is a penny earned."  We have heard that phrase so many time we overlook the basic concept it offers: cost effective. If you do not waste a penny on unnecessary or trivial expenses then you don't have to exert the effort to generate a penny and the taxes needed to keep the whole penny.

An Energy Efficient Mortgage requires the improvements made in the family home cost less than the energy saved or to apply Franklin's concept - cost effective. The improvements must save the family money over the life of the improvement-- or why bother. So the formula becomes: I < Es (Improvement costs less than Energy saved).

Making 'cost efficient' improvements to a home saves fuel energy and makes the house more comfortable. But it also saves the human energy required to keep paying the rising utility bills and the taxes needed to keep the earning.

Cost effective: a powerful little idea. Thanks Mr. Franklin

C.A.R. releases Q1 2011 Housing Affordability Index

Low interest rates, home prices contribute to higher affordability throughout California, C.A.R. reports. LOS ANGELES (May 12) – Housing affordability continued to improve throughout the state in the first quarter of 2011, led by low interest rates and home prices, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. The percentage of buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in California rose to 53 percent in the first quarter of 2011, up from 50 percent in fourth-quarter 2010 and 50 percent in first- quarter 2010, according to C.A.R.’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI). C.A.R.’s HAI measures the percentage of all households that can afford to purchase the median-priced, single-family home in California. READ More…

Home energy audit rebates still available

With funding made available by C.A.R.’s Housing Affordability Fund, the REALTOR®’s Energy Audit Program (REAP) provides a $250 rebate on a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) home energy audit when conducted by a certified HERS rater. A home energy audit helps homeowners identify improvements that can be made to the home to help reduce monthly utility bills. Improving the energy efficiency of the home is a great way to counter rising energy costs and makes homeownership more affordable.  To learn more about the REAP Program and get an application for your client, visit http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=iNU_WNTNUiuJjxe7-4yzlA.. Go Green Lending can assist any C.A.R. member with the rebate application and the Energy Efficiency Mortgage financing.

This is one of the hottest topics in the industry. Get on board.

Homebuyers Getting Help with Energy Retrofits

Source: blog.car.org

As winter wanes and the cool rains subside in California, talk of one issue is sure to heat up. Not that anyone needs an excuse. These days, everyone is concerned about global warming, regardless of the season. Anyone who is in a position to do something about it is trying to do their part. Experts rant about it, activists chant about it, and politicians …well, has anyone considered that they may be one of the causes of global warming? (Can you say hot air? And lots of it.) On an individual level... READ MORE

Housing and Home Improvements in Today’s Real Estate Market

This is a great article sharing the demand for home improvement financing for the current housing stock.  The solution is buying a home with a 203k streamline loan and combining it with an energy efficient mortgage.  At GoGreen Lending we offer this Hybrid loan program to turn “As Is” houses into energy efficient homes. READ MORE…

Empowered Nominated For Best of San Diego Awards 2011!

Empowered is one of only four companies selected for a public vote to determine the best solar company in San Diego 2011. Even though solar is only one part of what Empowered does this is a huge honor and we hope you'll take a few moments to vote for us.

You can vote at http://www.signonsandiego.com/bestof/2011/vote/home-improvement/best-solar-panel-company/ and please vote for Empowered Energy Solutions!  You'll have to be logged in to vote but this is a really easy process. Voting closes June 25th.

The best part is you can vote multiple times - once per day. So as the saying goes, please vote early and vote often. : )

Thanks in advance for your help, and for helping to make 2011 Empowered's best year yet!

Contractors paid half up front...

2640 La Cuesta Drive: Sustainable, Solid, Efficient

Met with Erik Lerner at 2640 La Cuesta Dr off Mulholland Dr in the Hollywood Hills, CA. Newly built sustainable, highly efficient 3435sf home looks over green hills from the comfort of its two-story concrete structure. Modern 'lean' lines and total silence inside. Architect Sarah Graham included everything from radiant heating to integrated solar pv array as shading. Retracting shade screen can be lowered to block out the late afternoon CA sun.  Interior spaces can be altered by sliding panels. Full details can be found at http://www.2640lacuesta.com/. For those who wonder where all the sustainable homes are --- take a look.

Magnolia Courts: Energy Star Active Adult Condos in La Verne

May Hsu, a real estate agent at Treeline Realty in Temple City, CA, is part of the team guiding an Energy Star condo complex that opens this spring. Designed with the most up-to-date efficiency and sustainable amenities Magnolia Courts will cater to the 55+ occupants. It will be a welcome addition to the San Gabriel Valley housing market. May Hsu supports sustainable housing through her http://www.greenandgorgeous.com/ website and outreach. More details on Magnolia Court are at www.LaVerne101.com.