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National Mortgage Rates 25 May 2012

Loan Type Today +/- Last Week
15 yr fixed 3.03 2.87
30 yr fixed 3.72 3.50
5/1 ARM 2.75 2.50

Rates may contain points

Think Green With Your Mortgage

By:
JR Hevron - MortgageLoan.com
Celebrate Earth Day by looking into how you can utilize an Energy Efficient Mortgage to help conserve energy and save resources.
 
It’s Earth Day today and there are lots of little things that you can do around your house to help the environment: plant trees in your yard, properly dispose of old paint and chemicals, turn off lights when you aren’t using them, and use fans instead of an air conditioner on hot days.
 
If you’d like to make greener, more long-term changes, look into getting an Energy Efficient Mortgage.
 
In a nutshell, an Energy Efficient Mortgage is a financial product that you add on to your primary mortgage. What it does is provide thousands of extra dollars that are earmarked specifically for energy efficient improvements on your home.
 
The basic process is this: an inspector comes to your home (or a home that you plan to buy) to do a Home Energy Rating. This report outlines the areas in your home that need improvement and gives suggestions on how to fix them. These inspections focus on total energy efficiency in areas like insulation, windows, and the HVAC system. Different programs vary, but generally 100% of the improvements are covered at a value of up to 15% of the house.
 
Once the loan amount is approved, you can figure out what changes you would like to make to your home, hire someone to do the work, and the bank cuts a check for the repairs. Then, the total cost of the EEM is rolled into your house loan and you just end up paying one check a month.
 
The beauty of the EEM is that it pays for itself in energy savings over the life of your home. These savings generally translate into a house that is greener and more comfortable year round. Also, it allows you to do many renovations and improvements (like new windows and a new HVAC system) that you probably wanted to do anyway but couldn’t afford.
 
An Energy Efficient Mortgage can be used on the purchase of a home, but it can also be used when doing a refinance to provide the renovations that many older houses need. If you are planning to purchase a new home that already has energy efficient improvements, you can generally qualify for a larger loan that accounts for these upgrades.
 
Though getting an Energy Efficient Mortgage certainly isn’t as easy or quick as turning off a light switch or watering your lawn at night, the effort is worth it with the long-term changes and serious benefits for the environment.
 

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National Rates

Loan Type Today +/-
30 yr fixed 3.72
15 yr fixed 3.03
5/1 ARM 2.75

Rates may contain points

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