There are many options when it comes to financing the home improvements you and your family need to live in a safer, more energy-efficient, and sustainable home. Some financing options include personal home improvement loans, solar loans, and standard credit cards. However, not all are equal. Most of these popular options come with far fewer consumer protections and valuable safeguards than Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing.
PACE Goes Above and Beyond
The consumer protections with PACE financing go above and beyond what other energy efficiency financing and residential solar financing alternatives commonly offer.
1. Direct Support & Customer Service
If you have any issues or questions regarding your PACE assessment or the contractor completing your project, Renew Financial offers you direct customer service support. Since Renew Financial works closely with all their approved contractors, you can get answers to your questions and solutions to your problems in a timely manner. The same is not true with traditional lenders, especially banks and credit card companies.
2. Comprehensive Disclosures
Every homeowner that qualifies for PACE financing gets the key information they need to make informed decisions. Similar to consumer financing, this includes comprehensive disclosures, such as a financing estimate of all the expected costs over the lifetime of the lien, a program handbook, and a final closing document that lays out a homeowner’s financial obligations.
3. Customer Verification Call
On top of comprehensive written disclosures, homeowners with PACE also receive a live confirmation call from a real, trained Renew Financial representative to go over all the terms and details of the specific financing project and answer any questions. It’s essential to make sure that the homeowner understands the project costs, interest rates, and repayment terms.
4. Project Completion Certificate
PACE comes with consumer protections to better protect homeowners from contractor-related disputes. For example, in Florida, a PACE contractor will not be paid for the completed work until the homeowner signs a project completion certificate that confirms it was a job well done.
5. No Prepayment Fees
With PACE financing from Renew Financial, there are also no prepayment fees if the homeowner decides to pay off the agreement early. This added flexibility means the homeowner is not locked in for the entire term of the PACE assessment and they are entirely free to pay off the agreement ahead of schedule.
6. Contractor Oversight
Renew Financial also exercises a substantial degree of oversight of approved contractors. This type of “quality control” and vetting has no parallel in unsecured lending, such as with credit cards or personal home improvement loans. With PACE, all eligible contractors are first screened for their licenses, insurance, and customer history.
7. Repayment Options
When it comes to repayment, PACE assessments show up as a line item on a property tax bill. This simple process offers homeowners the convenience of paying the annual PACE assessment at the same time as their property taxes. Meaning, there’s no need to pay a separate bill!
On top of the straightforward repayment process, PACE also offers terms up to 30 years, depending on the expected useful life of the project. This extended repayment timeline leads to lower payments with no direct impact on your credit. Compared to home equity loans or personal home improvement loans with shorter-term repayment periods, PACE financing offers significantly more flexibility to homeowners with no out of pocket costs.
How Can Homeowners Use PACE?
With a low fixed interest rate, homeowners can use PACE to finance the home upgrades they need to increase the energy efficiency of their homes and better protect themselves from natural disasters. PACE qualifying upgrades include:
● Solar Panel Installation
● Windows and Doors Replacement
● Heating and Cooling (HVAC) Upgrades
● Roofing and Roof Replacement
● Landscaping and Turf
● Hurricane Protection
● Earthquake Protection
Curious if your next safety, energy-efficient or water-saving home improvement is on the list? Browse the PACE home improvement project list, and rest easy knowing PACE financing has the consumer protections you need to make the best decision for your home.
