Refinancing - With interest rates at their lowest there is no better time to refinance than the present. Refinancing enables the homeowner to borrow more than the value of the existing mortgage in order to invest in green renovations. Furthermore investing in your home is the best investment that can be made because you don't need to use all of your own money. Compare that with what you need to spend of your own money to buy the same dollar amount of stock as the home mortgage being financed.

Benefits of financing more than your current mortgage for green renovations:

• Additional financing may be available as part of the mortgage for energy-saving measures.
• Energy-efficient home improvements will provide immediate savings over current monthly energy bills.
• Interest paid on mortgages or home equity loans are usually tax deductable.

Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) - EEM's are offered by most lenders and can be applied to almost all home mortgages, including home equity loans for green improvements. Loaning money via EEM's is safer to the lender because it is insured by the FHA and more lucrative because the home owner or buyer can qualify for more. Furthermore additional financing can be obtained by the homeowner for home improvements without prequalification.

Using an EEM to fund green improvements provides:

• Energy savings that can be financed as part of the mortgage.
• Increase the value of older homes by making them more efficient and green.
• A more energy-efficient home is more likely to sell. Energy efficiencies enable home buyers to stretch their debt-to-income qualifying ratios to be approved for the mortgage amount of your asking price.

Home Energy Ratings and Home Energy Assessments - Qualification for an EEM requires a Home Energy Rating. Home Energy Ratings traditionally involves an official inspection by a rater who is certified under a national or state sponsored home rating system (HERS).

A home energy rating audit should comprise of the following:

• Inspection of energy-related features of a homes window efficiency, insulation levels, heating and cooling systems by a certified under a state or national home energy rating system.
• Home energy rating and estimation of annual energy consumption and costs.
• Recommendation for energy improvements and their costs.
• Estimated returns on investments for improving a homes energy-efficiency.