HUD Announces FHA PowerSaver Program
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Today, Vice President Joe Biden and HUD (Housing and Urban Development) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the FHA PowerSaver pilot program as part of the Recovery Through Retrofit initiative announced in May 2009. This is meant to be a “mainstream mortgage product” that will offer low-cost loans to credit worthy individuals looking to make their homes more energy efficient. “Backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), these new FHA PowerSaver loans will offer homeowners up to $25,000 to make energy-efficient improvements of their choice, including the installation of insulation, duct sealing, doors and windows, HVAC systems, water heaters, solar panels, and geothermal systems.“
I’m happy to say that Atlanta Georgia is one of the pilot markets along with the City of Decatur. Here is a full list of the pilot markets:
Under the Better Buildings Program, approximately $485 million was allocated by DOE through competitive grants to initiatives in the following locations: Austin, TX; 16 towns in Maryland: Berlin, Cambridge, Chestertown, Cumberland, Denton, Easton, Elkton, Frostburg, Oakland, Princess Anne, Dundalk, Westminster, Havre de Grace, Salisbury, Takoma Park, and University Park, MD; Fayette County, PA; Bedford, NY; Berlin, Nashua, and Plymouth, NH; Boulder County, City and County of Denver, Garfield County, and Eagle County, CO; Camden, NJ; Chicago region, IL; Cincinnati, Ohio and northeast Kentucky; Consortium of 14 Connecticut Towns: Bethany, Cheshire, East Haddam, East Hampton, Glastonbury, Lebanon, Mansfield, Portland, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport, Wethersfield, Wilton and Windom; Detroit, Grand Rapids, and southeast MI; Greensboro, NC; Indianapolis and Lafayette, IN; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, San Diego, and Santa Barbara County; CA; Lowell, MA; Madison, Milwaukee, and Racine, WI; Maine statewide; Missouri statewide; New York statewide; Omaha and Lincoln, NE; Oregon statewide; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Riley County, KS; San Antonio, TX;; Seattle, and Bainbridge Island, WA; Select Southeastern cities: Atlanta GA, Carrboro NC, Chapel Hill NC, Charlotte, NC, Charleston SC, Charlottesville VA, Decatur GA, Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach VA, Huntsville AL, Jacksonville FL and New Orleans LA; Toledo, OH; and US Virgin Islands.
Lender participation is voluntary and lenders must express their interest in the program and specify which markets they would like to offer the product in. All of the information on the FHA PowerSaver program can be seen on the HUD website at http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/documents/5450-N-01_energy_retrofit_pilot_program_notice.pdf
This program has potential and i invite it to my lending world. I do hope our company participates. It will the door to more equitable owners who do not want to refinance their great rate for a FHA 203k and only need $10-$25k worth of improvements.
Carson- who has this product in Atlanta so we can help our clients out by offering it?