THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 23, 1994 TAG: 9407220436
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
In addition to the FHA pilot program, other energy-efficiency loans are also available:
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Next month, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two corporations that specialize in buying mortgages, will introduce programs similar to the FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage for houses up to about $225,000 in Virginia.
The Fannie Mae loan will allow up to 15 percent of the property value to be financed for energy improvements; Freddie Mac will allow up to 10 percent of the loan amount, says Christine Taylor, executive director of the Virginia Residential Energy Foundation and the Virginia Home Energy Rating Organization in Richmond.
Under the Fannie Mae program, improvements must be completed within 120 days of the loan. With Freddie Mac, borrowers have 180 days to complete improvements. Both programs require the home to be inspected through the Home Energy Rating Organization.
For details, call the Virginia Residential Energy Foundation in Richmond at (804) 358-0892.
VA loans: The Department of Veterans Affairs allows energy improvements to be financed into a mortgage, up to a maximum loan amount of $184,000. Improvements must be completed within 180 days.
For improvements of up to $3,000, borrowers are only required to tell the lender what they want to finance as part of the mortgage. For improvements costing more than $3,000, the house must be rated for energy efficiency by a state-approved inspector.
For more information on VA Energy Efficient Mortgages, call your local VA lender.
Virginia Power: Current homeowners can get low-interest loans of up to $10,000 for energy-efficiency improvements through Virginia Power, says Taylor, who helped the utility company develop its energy-efficiency loan program. Since January, the utility has approved more than 1,200 loans, she says.
``The importance of this is that it's for people who are not moving and are not refinancing.''
Interest rates for the loans range from 6 percent to roughly 8 1/2 percent. The amount depends on the improvement - the more energy-efficient the improvement, the lower the interest rate, Taylor says. The loans require the home to be rated for energy efficiency by a state-approved inspector.
For more information, call Virginia Power's Energy Efficiency department at (800) 955-8279.
Jumbo loans: Low-interest energy-efficiency loans are also available to help owners of homes valued at more than $225,000, Taylor says. For more information about the so-called jumbo loans, call the Virginia Residential Energy Foundation at (804) 358-0892. MEMO: Main story on page 4. by CNB