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CHEERS for Homeowners

	What is CHEERS?
	Own or buying a new home?
	Own or buying an older home?
	Need to have HVAC work done?

Own or Buying an Older Home?

There's every likelihood the cost of energy will continue to rise. In fact, after, after your monthly mortgage payment the cost of heating, air conditioning, appliances, lighting and so on is probably one of your biggest monthly expenses. That's why it makes a lot of sense to have a CHEERS® trained and certified Rater take a look at an older home.

Having an existing home rated for energy efficiency is the way to start cutting energy costs. A home energy rating report from CHEERS® is just like a home survey. It will help determine the energy efficiency of a residence, it tells you where problems are and suggests improvements that'll result in lower utility bills every month. A CHEERS® Rating Report can even help you qualify for a more expensive home.

A CHEERS® Rating Report includes:

A summary of existing conditions of the home.
Overall Rating Score of the home, as it is.
Recommended cost-effective energy upgrades.
Estimates of the cost, annual savings, and useful life of upgrades.
Improved Rating Score after the installation of recommended upgrades.
Estimated annual total energy cost for the existing home before and after upgrades.

CHEERS® certification may help you qualify for an Energy Efficient Mortgage! An Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) can make a home more affordable by allowing the mortgage lender to stretch your qualifying ratio on the basis of the reduced monthly utility bill costs resulting from greater energy efficiency.

When you qualify for an EEM you can afford a more expensive home.

	Older existing home	With Energy Improvements
Home price (90% mortgage, 8% interest)	$150,000	$154,816
Loan amount	$135,000	$139,334
Monthly payment*	$991	$1,023
Energy bills	+$186	+$93
The true monthly cost of home ownership	$1,177	$1,116
Monthly savings		$61

Source: PG&E Energy Efficient Mortgage Homeowner Guide

For more EEM information, check out the following:

There are hundreds of lenders in California who offer Energy Efficient Mortgages. To find out if your lender offers EEM's, or to find a lender who does, you can visit the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) website. Along with that…

Your local utility may have incentive programs for energy-related home improvements that exceed minimum energy efficiency requirements. It may help to visit your local utility's web site. Just click on the link. for more information:

Visit these web sites for more information that'll help make every dollar you spend work harder.

If heating, ventilation, or air conditioning work is needed, download this special brochure.

5 Questions Brochure
PDF Brochure (1.2M)