California Medical Board Pace Program Los Angeles
The Los Angeles County Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy(PACE) Program enables homeowners to install energy efficiency,renewable energy and water-saving improvements to their propertieswithout putting any money down! Under PACE, homeowners may work withone of two County-approved program administrators, PACEFUNDING andHERO, to finance these home improvements. A unique financing tool, PACE allows LA County to issue a bond toa lender, which secures funding for the installation of energy andwater efficiency, and renewable energy projects that are permanentlyfixed to the property. Homeowners then repay financing annuallythrough an assessment on their property tax bill. PACE financing enhances home values, lowers homeowners’ energybills, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and creates green jobs.
If yourproperty is eligible for Residential PACE. Frequently Asked Questions Why should I participate in Los Angeles County’s ( “LA County”)Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program?. Stricter underwriting criteria. Better consumer protections. Additional foreclosure support. Lower interest rates and fees. Access to LA County HERO and PACEFUNDINGGENERAL QUESTIONS 1.
What is the LA County Residential PACE Program and who are HEROand PACEFUNDING?The LA County Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)Program is a financing program sponsored by Los Angeles County forhomeowners who want to install energy efficiency, renewable energyand water-saving improvements to their properties. PACE financingenhances home values, lowers homeowners’ energy bills, reducesgreenhouse gas emissions and creates green jobs stimulating theeconomy.A unique financing tool, PACE allows LA County to issue a bond to alender, which secures funding for the installation of energyprojects that are permanently fixed to the property. Homeowners thenrepay financing annually through an assessment on their property taxbill.Through a competitive solicitation, Los Angeles County chose twoprogram administrators to operate its Residential PACE Program—HEROand PACEFUNDING. Choosing two administrators creates competition andgives homeowners more choices as detailed in Question 3.Examples of qualifying projects include high efficiency airconditioners and heating systems, windows, cool roofs, insulation,rooftop solar panels and smart irrigation systems, to name a few.For additional information on specific energy measures visit LACounty andprogramwebsites. Are all 88 cities within LA County part of the LA CountyResidential PACE program?To participate in the LA County Residential PACE Program with HEROand PACEFUNDING, a city must pass a resolution to opt in. To date,87 of 88 cities in Los Angeles County have passed resolutions optinginto the LA County PACE Program.
A list of participating cities maybe found at.Three other cities are in progress of passing a resolution toparticipate.Some LA County cities have opted into additional residential PACEPrograms sponsored by entities other than LA County. For thosecities that have opted into other programs, such as those run byFigTree and Ygrene, there will be no administrative support providedby the County. What are the benefits of a LA County-sponsored Residential PACEprogram as opposed to one that is not sponsored by LA County?Since LA County is sponsoring this program, it has the ability torequire the following consumer-friendly measures: stricterunderwriting criteria; additional quality assurance/quality controlmeasures; better consumer protections; additional disclosures;services for elderly and non-English speakers; and additionalforeclosure support through a reserve fund as described more fullyin Question 9. Residential PACE programs offered by others may nothave such stringent consumer protections built into them. Why did LA County choose two companies to administer the LACounty Residential PACE Program?LA County chose two Residential PACE program administrators tocreate competition that will ultimately benefit its residents. Iftwo administrators are competing for LA County residents’ business,then they will be driven to offer the best possible product forconsumers. How are the LA County HERO and PACEFUNDING programs differentand how are they the same?LA County HERO and PACEFUNDING Residential PACE programs aredifferent in that they may choose to: market their programsdifferently; offer different interest rates, fees and financingterms; require more stringent underwriting criteria; providedifferent timelines for payout; and/or provide different levels andmethods of customer service.
These are a few of the things that willdifferentiate the administrators and give consumers the power tomake an informed choice about with whom to work to obtainResidential PACE financing. The programs are the same in that LACounty will require/provide the following for both administrators:minimum underwriting criteria; the same or very similar contractualdocument templates; and certain fixed fees. LA County will alsoissue PACE bonds—the financial mechanism that facilitates completionof a PACE financing transaction—for both program administrators. Where can I find out more information about LA County’sResidential PACE Program?To find out more information on LA County’s Residential PACEprogram (as well as its Commercial PACE program), please visit.Amongst other things, this website will provide links to bothadministrator’s external websites (and ).
Can a homeowner use any contractor to install products financedthrough LA County’s Residential PACE program, or does a contractorhave to be affiliated with the program administrators?No. Contractors must be registered with either the LA County HEROor PACEFUNDING programs in order to install products eligible forPACE financing. Both LA County HERO and PACEFUNDING have manyparticipating contractors. Their contractors are specially trainedto help the homeowner through the PACE financing process. To find aparticipating contractor, visit theandprogram websites. I completed an application for energy upgrades through one ofthe two Program Administrators (HERO, PACEFUNDING) and I want tocomplain about the Program Administrators.
With whom do I file acomplaint regarding the Program Administrators?The homeowner can file a complaint with our Energy Network CallCenter by contacting us at our hotline (877) 785-2237, or by emailat info@lapace.org. I completed an application for energy upgrades through one ofthe two Program Administrators (HERO, PACEFUNDING) and I want tocomplain about the Contractor(s). With whom do I file a complaintregarding the Contractor(s)?A homeowner can contact the Program Administrators to file acomplaint about the contractor(s).HERO: Phone (855) 437-6411, email info@heroprogram.comPACEFUNDING: Phone (844) 873-7223, email info@PACEfunding.com 10. Where exactly does my PACE assessment appear on the AnnualSecured Property Tax Bill?If you have been approved for PACE financing and have executed anassessment contract, the annual assessment payments will appearunder the Direct Assessment Section of your property tax bill. Someexamples of how the assessment will appear are WRCOG Hero, LACEP RESPACE, LACEP RES 2016 or LACEP COMM to name a few. You can find anexample of an annual secured property tax bill atand Direct Assessments are number 7 on the bill.
If you have aspecific question in regards to your direct assessment, please referto the telephone number found on your Annual Secured Property TaxBill. I am interested in financing energy upgrades through PACE. DoI need to finance the total value through PACE, or can I pay some ofthat in cash?The PACE program allows participants to pay any portion of theirenergy upgrades using either cash or a separate financing vehicle,so long as the PACE financing component is equal to at least $5,000.Participants should keep in mind the increase in annual propertytaxes that will result from a PACE assessment, and use this figurein determining the amount of energy upgrades that can reasonably beafforded. My mortgage lender pays my annual secured property tax bill,through an impound account. Do I need to inform the mortgage lenderof the dollar value of upgrades financed through PACE so they canincrease the monthly amount I pay to them?Yes.
Property owners should consult with their lender(s) ormortgage servicer(s) prior to entering into an assessment contract.Entering into an assessment contract without the consent of anexisting lender(s) or mortgage servicer(s) may constitute an eventof default under such agreements or security instruments. Defaultingunder an existing mortgage agreement or security instrument couldhave serious consequences to property owners, which could includedemand for payment in full or foreclosure.Additionally, we recommend that property owners share contractualdocuments with lender(s) or mortgage servicer(s) to determine theappropriate increase for the escrow impound account to renderpayment for property taxes.
Can a lender foreclose on my property if I miss just oneinstallment payment for my annual secured property tax bill?While assessment bonds in California typically allow for judicialforeclosure following a single missed payment, the County’sresidential PACE program provides significantly greater protectionsfor its participants. Judicial foreclosure can be initiated bybondholders in the County program only if: 1) a participatinghomeowner is delinquent for seven months following the secondinstallment due date of February 1st; 2) the homeowner fails toresolve this delinquency within a subsequent 60-day cure period; 3)the cash reserve fund for the County’s residential PACE program hasbeen depleted; and 4) the Program Administrator’s reserve fund“backstop” has been exhausted. As a result of these conditions, itis unlikely that one missed PACE assessment will trigger a judicialforeclosure and threaten the participant with the loss of theirhome. FOR CITIES 14.
What is the Los Angeles County Energy Program and how does itrelate to LA County’s Residential PACE program?The Los Angeles County Energy Program (LACEP) is the name used inLA County’s legal documents to describe both its Residential PACEprogram and its Commercial PACE program. Cities that have passedresolutions to participate in LA County’s PACE program have probablynoticed this term on their resolutions. Consequently, all citiesthat have passed resolutions opting into LACEP are participating inboth LA County’s Residential and Commercial PACE Programs. Foradditional information and a list of participating cities, pleasevisit. What can a city do to promote Residential PACE?Cities can promote Residential PACE by providing information totheir constituents orally when fielding inquiries, through theirrespective websites by linking to,and through programmatic marketing material offered atcity-sponsored events such as public meetings, conferences andentertainment venues like summer concert series. Other, morecreative methods of supporting PACE include offering expeditedpermit processing for Residential PACE projects and creatingadditional incentives that support specific Residential PACEprojects. If your city is interested in exploring these morecreative approaches, contact LA County’s Residential PACE Providers,LA Countyandto receive guidance and support.
Other Residential PACE providers have approached our city.Should we join their programs too? Also, other PACE providers haveclaimed that they are included within LA County’s program. Is thistrue?Each city has the discretion to determine how many Residential PACEproviders it will allow to operate in its city.
The availability ofmultiple PACE providers in your city may create confusion in themarketplace. Through participation in LA County’s Residential PACEprogram, cities already have access to two residential PACEproviders, LA County HERO and PACEFUNDING, which provides numerousbenefits to resident homeowners as described in Question 4.
At thistime, only HERO and PACEFUNDING are providers for the LA CountyResidential PACE Program. Will the LA County Residential PACE program promote itselfthrough a single marketing “brand ”?No. Although LA County’s serves as Residential PACE’s ProgramSponsor, and ensures that certain components are the same for bothprogram administrators (see Question 5 for more information), it hasopted to let HERO and PACEFUNDING market their own brands toconsumers such that consumers can decide for themselves with whomthey should work to obtain PACE financing.
As discussed above, LACounty will provide links to both program adminstrator’s externalwebsites on its website,.18. In July 2010, launch of LA County’s Residential PACE programwas put on hold due to concerns raised by the Federal HousingFinance Authority. Now that LA County is launching Residential PACE,do these FHFA concerns still pose an issue?In July 2010, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued astatement that PACE programs present safety and soundness concernsto the mortgage portfolios held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Theconcerns were related directly to the priority lien status of thePACE assessments and the associated right of a PACE bondholder toinitiate a foreclosure proceeding for non-payment of the PACEassessment and be first in line to receive any payment resultingfrom the foreclosure process. Despite these objections, several PACEprograms continued to operate throughout the country and have notencountered problems with the FHFA. In response to the FHFAobjections, the County has developed the County-wide,County-managed, consumer and lender-friendly residential PACEProgram that includes a number of measures to mitigate the potentialrisks associated with FHFA objections, including a substantialamount of disclosures to property owners on the risks associatedwith entering into a PACE assessment contract.
More information canbe found at the following LA Countyin the August 12, 2014 and March 3, 2015 Board of Supervisorsmeetings. What is the history of PACE in California?In California, the first commercial and residential PACE programswere established in 2008.
The residential programs soon encountereda significant hurdle. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wasconcerned that residential PACE assessments had a lien statussuperior to that of existing mortgages underwritten by Fannie Maeand Freddie Mac.Despite these objections, several residential PACE Programscontinued to operate, including the Sonoma County EnergyIndependence Program (SCEIP), the City of Palm Desert’s PACE Programand California HERO. None of these programs have met anyrepercussions from the FHFA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to date.In an effort to keep residential PACE alive in California, theState, its governor, several residential PACE Program administratorsand local governments tried a number of methods to engage the FHFAin a conversation to agree to a solution. Since 2010, a number ofdevelopments have been made towards mitigating FHFA’s concerns. Thisincludes the implementation a statewide reserve fund created byGovernor Jerry Brown, statewide legal validation of severalresidential PACE programs, additional disclosures to consumers and avariety of consumer protection measures.As a result of the above measures taken to address FHFA’s concern,the positive involvement of the State and Governor Jerry Brown, andthe lack of action from FHFA, many cities and counties now haveoperating residential PACE Programs.
California Medical Board Pace Program Los Angeles Application
To date, thousands ofresidential PACE assessments have been completed in Californiaindicating millions of dollars of investment by Californiahomeowners in energy efficiency, water efficiency and renewableenergy projects saving them money on their utility bills andcreating jobs.