We recently interviewed Jason Sampson of Envirolending.Com.  Mr. Sampson’s company specializes in “green” mortgages, and his offices are located in Texas.  We had a lot of questions for him.  I think you will find his response interesting.  Because of the length of this interview, we are offering it in two parts.  Read the rest of the story tomorrow.

A~

 Interview With Jason Sampson of Envirolending

AS: Help us understand what your company does, and how it works.

JS: EnviroLending is a Winning Mortgage Solutions brand. Winning Mortgage Solutions is a Texas-based full-service mortgage broker. EnviroLending specializes in offering Energy Efficient Mortages for qualified energy efficient homes in the state of Texas. Energy Efficient Mortages provide the borrower with added purchasing power when buying a home that is energy efficient, or can be made efficient through the installation of energy-saving improvements. The idea behind the EEM is a simple one - that a more efficient and therefore more affordable home enables the home buyer to qualify for a larger loan. The EEM takes into consideration the fact that the home owner will be spending less money on energy consumption and applies that savings as income when qualifying for the loan. For instance, a recent customer of ours with a gross income of $50,000 was able to qualify for a $186,500 home without an EEM, but with an EEM that figure increased to $202,000.

AS: Do you to be a treehugger to qualify? Does the average borrower qualify? Only new homes? Existing homes?

JS: NO, you don’t have to be a treehugger to qualify. Qualifying for an EEM is basically the same as qualifying for any conforming mortgage. Your credit score, debt to income ratio, ability to repay the loan, etc. are all factors in any mortgage loan. EEMs work with both new homes and existing homes. The process is essentially the same as it is with a typical home loan except that it begins with a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) report being obtained on the existing home or the plans of the home to be built. With new homes, the report identifies how energy efficient the home is, and with existing homes, the report identifies how the home’s energy efficiency can be improved through the installation of energy saving features.

AS:  Are there specific lending markets you tend to reach with the energy efficient mortgage product?

JS: Not really. EEM’s are a beneficial product for borrower’s of all kinds, whether they are looking for a new home purchase, existing home purchase or refinancing for the purpose upgrading the energy efficiency of a home.

AS: Do you tend to see different demographics than more traditional products?

JS: EEMs have been around for quite a while but have been severely under-marketed and therefore under-utilized. Until very recently the typical EEM consumer was someone who likely sought one out after becoming aware of it due to their interest in or exposure to energy efficient, high-performance home building or if they are interested in environmental issues and perhaps came across an eco-friendly news story describing EEMs. If you fit into these or similar categories you may have heard about the EEM, otherwise, you likely have not. We are beginning to see increased awareness of EEMs largely due to the explosion of all things green in the media. Of course, the ever-increasing cost of energy is also helping to expand awareness as consumers demand more energy efficient products and this definitely includes their homes. As a result of these effects we are beginning to see increasing consumer interest in EEMs.

AS: If looking to purchase an existing home and going through the energy rating process, can updates be negotiated as contingencies?

JS: If you want to purchase and then upgrade an existing home utilizing the EEM product, a HERS rating is performed which will detail the current energy efficiency of the home and also provide a checklist of items that can be added to improve the home’s energy efficiency. Up to 15% of the home’s appraised value can be borrowed for energy efficient improvements. For a home that appraises for $150,000, you could finance up to $22,500 in energy efficient upgrades.

 Visit the Envirolending website for more details on their product.  Visit the site tomorrow for the rest of the interview with Mr. Sampson.