Building A Green Home? Go With An Energy Efficient Mortgage
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by: JohnWyeth
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An energy efficient mortgage is available to those who are looking to purchase a home which has had specific energy efficient improvements made to it or a home that was originally built as energy efficient. Today in the United States, you have the choice of three different types of energy efficient mortgages that one can now choose from.
The types of mortgages that are available are the conventional energy efficient mortgage (EEM), the FHA EEM and the VA EEM. Below we take a look at what these are and who can actually apply for one if they want.
Conventional Energy Efficient Mortgage - This can be used by anyone and will allow the lender to increase the amount the borrower is loaned by an amount that is equal to the estimated energy savings to be achieved from the energy efficiency of the home. This loan also adjusts the actual value of the property in order that it clearly reflects the value of the energy efficient measures that have been made to it.
FHA EEM - These are specifically designed to allow people to make improvements to their homes and normally a person is able to borrow 100% of the costs of the energy efficient enhancements to be carried out. However, the maximum amount that one is able to borrow with this particular loan is $8,000, but the borrower is not required to make any down payment. People who have a home that is energy star qualified can apply for such a loan as it is sometimes also referred to as an energy star mortgage.
VA EEM - This particular type of mortgage is only available to those people who are either currently serving as military personnel or are reservists or can shown that they are a veteran. As with the FHA, this type of EEM can be used to help make improvements to a property. Currently a person is able to borrow between $3,000 and $6,000 to make such improvements to their home in order to make it more energy efficient.
There are numerous benefits to be gained from one taking out such mortgages or loans and below we look at a couple of these. As well as helping you to save on the costs of your utility bills each month, making such improvements to your home can actually increase its resale value as well.
A person is able to borrow a larger sum of money as the lender will look at the estimated savings to be gained as a result of lower monthly utility bills and an take this into account when factoring in the amount of monthly payment that the homeowners can afford. This means that the more energy efficient the property is, the more you can borrow.
The other benefit to be gained from taking out any kind of energy efficient mortgage is that should you wish to, you can include in your requirements the costs for making further improvements to it. This means that you can save yourself money by taking out one loan rather than several in the future. Also, you may well discover that you are presented with a far better rate of interest on your loan and so save yourself even more money.
About the Author
AnEnergy Efficient Mortgage can be valuable tool in your quest to construct a green home. John Wyeth writes informative articles for homegreenhome.info - a blog about building, financing, powering and living in your green home.
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