Finance

Finance Your Roofing, Solar, or SunVault Battery Storage Installation

Home Improvement Financing Options

HomePro offers different options for financing. Choose an option that works best for your project. HomePro is proud to partner with several finance companies to assist in all levels of construction and project financing. Many financing companies offer 100% financing for residential projects, overcoming the principal roadblock property owners struggle with when looking to reroof or add solar or storage to their homes. HomePro believes that every homeowner should be able to reroof or add solar and storage, so we offer various financing packages to meet almost anyone’s needs.

Traditional Financing

We offer traditional financing with terms up to 25 years

Same as Cash Financing

Same-as-cash loans are unsecured, with maximum amounts of $25,000 to $75,000. 0% financing offer the deferred finance charge accrues from the day the customer signs the loan papers. If the loan isn't paid off before the end of the promotion, the buyer will have to pay all the back interest.

PACE FINANCING

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P.A.C.E. Is an acronym for property-assessed clean energy. P.A.C.E. Is a unique type of financing, typically designed to encourage property owners to upgrade their home with energy or water-saving upgrades such as solar power, energy-efficient windows, cool roofing, attic insulation, High-efficiency heating, and air conditioning, as well as drought-tolerant landscaping; anything that helps conserve gas, electricity, and watcher. P.A.C.E. is different as you repay your financing alongside your property tax bill as a special line item.

P.A.C.E. is local to Northern California with its roots in Berkeley. P.A.C.E. financing begin when a group of homeowners wanted to have their utility power lines placed underground and petition the city to pay the upfront costs and the homeowners would we pay the loan through their property taxes over several years. It was determined that that concept could be applied to energy efficient upgrades that benefits both the City, Contractors, and Homeowners.

In 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (the terminator), signed into law the specialty financing known as P.A.C.E. Today Commercial P.A.C.E. legislation exist in roughly 35 states across the nation. Residential P.A.C.E. is available in California, Missouri, and Florida.

P.A.C.E. benefits City, Contractors, and Homeowners. Cities are under state and federal mandates to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases so having a program that promotes energy efficiency is of huge benefit to the local municipalities. Contractors benefit because through the P.A.C.E. financing more homeowners can obtain financing and therefore contractors are able to do more work, hire additional employees and more local people, and grow their business. Homeowners benefit because this type of financing is an easier type of financing to obtain, makes their home more efficient energy, reduces their energy and water bills and do their part for the environment.

How is P.A.C.E. Financing different from traditional financing?

P.A.C.E. Financing is based on the equity in the home and the ability to repay. P.A.C.E. is NOT based on FICO scores (no minimum FICO is required). Homeowners must have equity in their home, must be current on their mortgage with no more than ONE (1) 30-day late payment in the last 12 months, must be discharged from bankruptcy more than 2 years ago, and current on their property taxes. Property owners must show proof of income to repay the loan.

How is P.A.C.E. Financing repaid?

P.A.C.E. is repaid on your property tax bill as a separate line item. If you were to look at a property tax bill there are lying items such as mosquito abatement school bonds pothole repairs (although there are still billions of them on the road, sorry, I digressed); it is a line item that will stay on the property tax bill for the term of the loan. How you pay your property tax bill will not change, whether you pay it annually, semiannually, or through an impound account, that process will not change.

Because P.A.C.E. loans are repaid alongside your property tax bill, your first property tax payment is usually in November, the second payment is usually in February. The closing date of P.A.C.E. financing is generally the middle of June. if a property owner were to complete a project after June the first payment would not be until November of the following year nearly 18 months away before making the first payment.

What are the terms of P.A.C.E. Financing?

Eligible products can be financed in terms of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years; the maximum term will be based on the life expectancy of the project. For example, a furnace has a 20-year warranty, so the maximum finance term would be 20 years. Solar and roofing, with lifetime warranties, can be financed up to the 30-year term. Property owners doing multiple projects such as roofing windows and HVAC, would be able to finance for the term that has the highest dollar amount.

Are there Fees and Interest involved?

Yes, and Yes. There are origination fees, as well as fixed competitive interest. There is also interest that accrues prior to making the first payment.

What are the PROs of P.A.C.E. Financing?

  • NO FICO requirements
  • NO UPFRONT COSTS for doing a project, and up to 18 months without payments
  • Fixed competitive rate
  • 100% financing up to $250,000 (Based on Equity)
  • Flexible repayment terms
  • House could sell for more money with the added improvements and lower utility bills
  • Potential tax benefits
  • Potentially transfers to new owners upon home sale.

What are the CONs of P.A.C.E. Financing?

  • P.A.C.E. is Not available in all communities.
  • P.A.C.E. becomes a lien (if you do not pay your property taxes)
  • It is Complicated.
  • The overall increase in your property tax bill—this does NOT increase the actual property tax bill, just the overall bill as it is added.
  • The interest rate might be higher than you can get with traditional home equity lines of credit HELOCs.
  • The P.A.C.E. loan might not transfer with the sale of the home.

Renew Financial

Renew Financial PACE is an easy-to-use financing solution that allows you to make home improvements with no money down.

Financing is paid back over time as part of your property taxes and qualification is not based on your credit score. PACE features a speedy approval process, flexible payment terms, and access to trusted home improvement contractors that Renew Financial has carefully screened.

  • No FICO requirements.
  • Flexible repayment terms.
  • No upfront fees.
  • 100% financing (up to $250,000)
  • Fixed, competitive rates.
  • Supports environmental health.

HomeRun PACE Financing

If you’re planning to make energy-efficient and/or water-saving upgrades to your home, then you can apply for a PACE loan through HomeRun and get approval within minutes. No more waiting weeks to determine if you’ll have the funding needed to start your energy-efficient upgrade. The plans are flexible, with terms of 5-10-15-20-25-30 years. Payments are made through property taxes and there might be some tax benefits as well. You can learn more about HomeRun financing here.

OTHER SOLAR FINANCING OPTIONS

The Solar Lease: No up-front cost, no debt, and no worries.

A solar lease is the easiest way to go solar.  You don’t have to pay anything upfront, you don’t have to take on any debt, and someone else is financially responsible for the system.  Sounds pretty great, right?

HomePro offers a solar lease through SunPower, a San Jose, CA-based manufacturer of the premier solar panels on the market.  Here are the details on why a solar lease might make sense for you.

Leasing solar is cheaper than paying your utility.

When did you choose your utility as your electricity provider?  The short version is, you didn’t.  Electric utilities have historically enjoyed an effective monopoly on electricity retail…until now.

With a solar lease, you can produce electricity (measured in kilowatt-hours, or kWh) on your own roof at a fraction of the cost of what you would otherwise pay your utility.  Every kWh you don’t have to buy from your utility is money saved.

A solar lease protects against rate increases A solar lease is ideal if you can’t use the tax credit

A solar lease makes sense for a lot of people.  One group that especially benefits from a solar lease is those who can’t use the solar tax credit themselves.  This may include retirees or those who have already reduced their total tax liability with non-solar tax credits and deductions.  If you lease the solar system, SunPower (the panel manufacturer) owns the solar system and receives both the federal solar tax credit and any state-level incentive.  You as the homeowner benefit from the energy the system produces.  Thus, if you can’t use the tax credit, it can be helpful to have SunPower keep the tax credit and offer you a low electricity rate as a result.

Like a car lease in that, there is a very low upfront payment and a fixed term, and at the end of the term you give the car back. In solar, the lease term, is generally 20 to 25 years, with a fixed payment during the term. The solar lease has an option of a fixed rate for the entire term or a rate that includes a small escalator for the term of the lease (usually around 2-3%, but generally lower than the rate hikes of the utility companies). The upfront payment in a solar lease is generally ZERO, and the lease company provides a guarantee of power output, as well as insurance, maintenance, and any possible repairs. With the solar lease, the lessor owns the system as well as any tax advantages that go along with it.

Advantages of Leasing

One of the biggest benefits of a lease is that you do not have to come up with large upfront capital to purchase assistance. Quite often we can provide a lease with nothing down, where your monthly payments are lower than the amount of your utility bill, so each month you actually are making money, without any investment.

In many instances, the lessor is responsible for maintaining, insurance, and making sure the panels are produced as the lease agreement states.

Disadvantages of Leasing

One potential disadvantage of a solar lease is that there are very long-term contracts which means you’re going to be tied up paying a monthly payment to the lessor of the solar panels.

A solar lease can possibly create problems if you are going to sell your home during the time of the lease. Usually, the lesser will require that if you sell your home during the lease term the purchaser of the home, the new buyer can take over the solar lease. An issue that has arisen in the past is that the price of power might have come down less than the power cost in the lease, as well as the price of solar panels have dropped, making today’s least price is cheaper than those in the past.

Solar Power Purchase Agreement PPA

PPA is an acronym for Power Purchase Agreements. A 3rd Party purchases and installs the solar system, and the property owner pays the 3rd Party for the power the system generates for a fixed period, usually 25 years. Like a lease, there usually is ZERO upfront payment. The 3rd party monitors, maintains, and insurers the solar system. Many people consider a PPA like that of your local utility company, in that you usually put no upfront payment, and pay for the power you use. Throughout the year, you will use more power in the summer for your swimming pool, etc., so your bill will be higher in the summer months than generally in the winter months. With a PPA, you are only paying for the power your system generates. Like a Lease, the 3rd Party owns the system and receives any tax advantages that go along with ownership. Well-known companies that use the PPA model are Sunrun and Sungevity.

Advantages of a solar PPA

The advantages of a solar PPA are like that of a solar lease, most notably ZERO upfront.

With a PPA, you are only paying for the power your system produces, so if your system goes down from any reason it is up to the 3rd party provider to fix the system at their expense.

If your PPA has an escalator, it will generally go up at a slower rate than your local utility provider.

Different from a lease, where you are renting the equipment in a lease, the PPA provides additional protection because you are only purchasing the power it produces.

The advantages of a solar PPA are like that of a solar lease, most notably ZERO upfront.

With a PPA, you are only paying for the power your system produces, so if your system goes down for any reason it is up to the 3rd party provider to fix the system at their expense.

If your PPA has an escalator, it will generally go up at a slower rate than your local utility provider.

Different from a lease, where you are renting the equipment in a lease, the PPA provides additional protection because you are only purchasing the power it produces.

Disadvantages of a solar PPA

Similar disadvantages are for a solar PPA that is for a lease, most notably they are long-term agreements that a purchaser of a home might not want to take over.

A challenge that many people face is the cost of the power the system produces is high in the summer and low in the summer, and they are not able to have a levelized payment system they might be able to get with their local utility company.

Contact Home Pro Today!

We’re confident Home Pro, Professional Home Improvement, Inc. is the right contractor for you. We would be pleased to offer an estimate for your solar project. Call (800) 650-3134 or fill out the online form to schedule an appointment.

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