How to Get a Home Equity Loan

Lenders are between a rock and a hard place. With a good deal of very risky loans, they still have to do the day to day selling of mortgages to qualified people. This is their bread and butter. And consumers with okay credit have an advantage as well. If mortgage companies depended soley on excellent Fico scores for their risk, they would be missing out on a large market.

Twenty years ago hardly anyone was on the organic bandwagon. Today there are stores popping up everywhere selling only organic. Even the local grocer has an aisle dedicated entirely to organic. People are now embracing going greener, organic. And lenders are listening. There is a push currently of mortgages with discounts and credits as lenders reward consumers for being energy-efficient.

What is being called a Green mortgage is gaining renewed attention from top lenders. If your home or prospective home has energy-efficient improvements, or meets certain efficiency standards, you may qualify for a credit at closing, or a nice discount on a refinance. Everything from spray-foam insulation to carpets is considered.

These Green mortgages aren't new, but they are receiving more attention as of late. These loans allow consumers to borrow more because the mortgage companies are considering the savings that consumers will see in utility bills. An example would be a home that saves $50 a month. That's $600 a year that can be applied to the loan, or $10,000 more to the mortgage.

Environmentalists are loving it, saing that coaxing people to make changes that will use less energy is a good thing. Homes are said to account for around 20 percent of the greenhouse gas effect. Some states are subsidizing loans for energy-efficient improvements. Pennsylvania now offers a low-interest, unsecured financing for energy-related improvements such as insulation and air-conditioning systems, windows, doors, things that meet their criteria.

Kansas and New York have also started their own plans that allows families to qualify for reduced rate loans for improvements. Already participation has been about 20 percent this year. And builders are jumping on board as well, with homes that are enery-efficient. They now present prospective home owners options banks are offering including the Green mortgages. This is an additional tool for developers in a slow market nationwide.

Finally, many lenders are offering refinancing at better rates if the home now qualifies as being more energy-efficient. Again lenders factor in that the borrower will be able to better afford the loan with the additional money they will save on utility bills. If you find this of interest, I detail more on my website When is Foreclosure.

Dave Jackson works with foreclosures and mortgages on his site When is Foreclosure. Now a new angle at refinancing by going green with tips Dave gives you when you approach your lender.