We get a lot of questions from clients about the Mass Save energy-conservation program (www.masssave.com). They want to know what it does, how the process works.
Out of curiosity, Ben recently went to the Mass Save web site and completed its home energy assessment form; his experience brought new heating and air-conditioning systems to his home, interest free.
An Energy Specialist came to his home two weeks later to measure the energy use and provide energy-saving recommendations. That led to the plan that is now making Ben’s home cheaper to run.
This energy specialist really knew what he was doing. First thing, he replaced a bunch of light bulbs – for free — with the newer, more efficient kind. Then he went through the house – he spent two hours – and the bad news was Ben’s old, inefficient heating system needed to go. The good news was Ben could go to Bob Kelley at Mutual Bank in Whitman for his zero-interest loan. That’s the same bank that holds the mortgage on his house, so it was friendly territory.
Another twist in the story was that Ben wanted to install central air, too, so the heating specialist talked Ben through that. To have central air covered by Mass Save you need to purchase a super-efficient, unit – the expensive one – for it to qualify for the zero-interest loan. Ben, and his lovely wife, Tara, decided to go for it all.
Getting the job done was easy, too. Ben was able to use the installation companies and the bank of his choice. He called Bob Kelley at Mutual Bank in Whitman for his new loan because he already had a mortgage loan with them.
Bob later explained how the zero-interest Mass Save loan is handled:
“We offer the 0% heat loans, up to $25,000, with terms up to 84 months (seven years). Right now, we limit them to owner-occupied properties. In most cases, this is the customer’s primary residence, plus we have done some on second homes. But that may expand to other types of real estate in the future.
“The application process is relatively easy. The application is on our website, or we can e-mail the application to customers,” Bob explained.
“We have offered these loans without any fees and we are writing all of them unsecured. This is unlike some of our competitors. We looked hard at the fees, but decided that if customers are seeking 0% loans, let’s try to make it easy for them. By not charging fees, we also decided not to have any of them secured with either a mortgage or a UCC-1 financing statement. Many of our customers are homeowners and by recording a mortgage, it can get in the way for the next 5-7 years if and when the customer attempts to refinance their first mortgage. Plus, the recording fees are $178 to record it and $78 to discharge it, so it can add up.”
All the work in Ben’s house is done now, thanks to the Mass Save Program.
We asked another friend about his experience with Mass Save. Here is what he had to say.
Joe, called Mass Save’s 1-800 number to schedule a home energy assessment. It took about a month for an Energy Specialist to come to Joe’s house. When he arrived he provided Joe with new energy-efficient light bulbs and programmable thermostats.
The technician walked through Joe’s house and attic for about two hours using an infrared camera to check for heat loss. After looking for hot and cold spots, the Energy Specialist concluded that the only work needed was to replace his furnace. They gave Joe a list of 12 banks he could choose from for the interest-free loan.
Afterward, Joe said the process was definitely worth it.
Hopefully, this information will help you if you’re interested in Mass Save. Ben and Joe were both happy with the experience and recommend it to their friends!
If you have any more question about the Mass Save Program, or any other real estate questions, please reach out. We love helping people!