Source: Burlington Free Press, July 27

By Joel Banner Baird

“The summer scramble for efficiency upgrades to homes and businesses — always lively in Vermont — warms up this week as Congress works to overcome resistance from federal mortgage regulators.

Need an attic-full of fresh insulation? Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing was designed to allow building owners to pay for the improvements over time, in the form of an addition to the local property tax bill.

It sounds simple: The new owner takes over the tax assessment when the property changes hands.

But there’s a catch: The federal mortgage brokers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have raised a red flag.

In May, they warned lenders away from any properties with PACE financing — because of risky lien encumbrances in case the owners foreclose…”