Amazing! Massachusetts Homeowners To Benefit From New Loan Program Promoting Green Solutions
DEBARYLIFE – Heat pumps, rooftop solar panels, and other projects that reduce a home’s energy use by 20% are eligible for loans of up to $100,000.
Under a new loan program that state officials unveiled on Monday, households in Massachusetts with moderate to low incomes will be able to apply for loans of up to $100,000 to take on sustainable energy projects.
The loans are the first product that the community climate bank, which Governor Maura Healey established last year, is selling to the general public. The bank’s goals are to reduce the high cost of living in the state and expedite the state’s move away from fossil fuels.
Decarbonizing the state’s housing sector will be a key component of meeting the net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 objective established by Massachusetts lawmakers under former governor Charlie Baker. According to state representatives, thirty percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts come from residential and commercial buildings, with single-family and small multi-family dwellings contributing sixty percent of building emissions.
Twenty million dollars from the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank will be used for the program, which aims to provide up to 1,000 loans over two years.
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Applicants for loans must reside in the property they own, whether it be a single-family home or a multi-family structure with up to four apartments. To be qualified, homeowners must make less than 135% of the local median income, which in Berkshire County is approximately $125,000 and in Greater Boston, more than $190,000.
Additionally, each project must cut overall energy use by at least 20%. Director of policy and programs at the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank Maggie Super Church stated that the loan program “really covers the full range of energy improvements that somebody may want to make to their home.”
These upgrades include fixing mold, fixing or replacing the roof, weatherizing various areas of the house, and adding solar panels to the roof, heat pumps, or an electric vehicle charging station.
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“Homeowners in Massachusetts will have the chance to simply and affordably make a wide range of clean energy upgrades to their houses with the Energy Saver Home Loan program that we’re launching today,” Super Church stated. “To enable people to make those improvements, we’re combining extremely low-cost financing with very high-touch customer support to support them throughout the entire process.”
According to Super Church, homeowners who are interested in the loans will be paired with a local “concierge service provider” to determine their eligibility and assist in scheduling a home energy assessment. The service providers will work with the homeowner to create an energy improvement plan, locate contractors, and find rebates and other incentives that can be applied against partial loan repayment.
The loans have an interest-only period of eighteen months and no upfront cash requirement. They will be managed at MassHousing’s mortgage servicing center.
Within MassHousing, a quasi-public organization that provides funding for affordable housing is the Climate Bank.
The financing program, according to MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay, “will empower homeowners across Massachusetts to help advance our state’s ambitious clean energy goals, while slashing their home energy usage and making their homes healthier and more comfortable.”