Do You Feel the Draft Yet?

The weather outside is frightful, but your home energy bills don't have to be.  Up here in Whitefish, Montana, when Old Man Winter comes, he comes with a vengeance - but that doesn't mean you have to suffer.  Ever heard of a green mortgage?  And I'm not just talking paper.  I'm talking about an EEM, or Energy Efficient Mortgage.  In a nutshell, an EEM allows a buyer to borrow more than 80% of the property value (sometimes as much as 10% of the purchase price) to provide capital for energy efficient improvements.

As the single largest housing expense after a mortgage payment, your utility costs can have a direct impact on how large a mortgage you can afford.  You can save money on the cost of utilities by purchasing new enerty-efficient heating and cooling systems or by making home improvemens such as weatherizing and insulating older homes and these improvements can save you money through lower utility bills.

As a new or current homeowner, you may be able to use FHA's EEM to finance the cost of these improvements.  In the following example, a homeowner can afford to purchase $33,000 "more home" if the home is made to be energy efficient.  As you can see, even with the additional $33,000 purchase price, the total monthly payment including utilities is less expensive than the more affordable home.  You can learn more about EEM's at www.energyefficientflathead.com or www.flyreeltor.com.