SubscribePACE is officially dead:
“Fannie Mae will not purchase mortgage loans secured by properties with an outstanding PACE obligation unless the terms of the PACE program do not permit priority over first mortgage liens,” according to the (FHA) guidance.
This really doesn’t come a surprise to me. If I recall, a couple of years ago there was [...]
DemandSideSolutions
energy issues in the built environment
Month: August, 2010
PACE is Dead
Climate Risk
Beer, soda and cake makers are, like all publically traded companies, forced to report in SEC filings risks to their business resulting from future climate change. I wonder how the reports do/would read for some of the major commercial real estate players? Production builders?
re-blog: LEED for Homes
The GB Curmudgeon has a nice rant post describing LEED for Homes. I’m not too familiar with the program so I can’t comment on it myself. But, like the commercial LEED program, it seems like there are still many bugs to work out.
Prime Retrofit Opportunities
“35 Beautiful (but Scary) Abandoned Buildings“.
I love old buildings, ghosts or no ghosts.
Hat Tip: Tyler Cowen
Big Picture: Decline and the Long-Term
DiA has a post today about the potential decline of the boom towns of the past decade with a focus on Atlanta. While my professional focus is at the building scale, I’ve always been mindful and interested in the work planners do. I studied with many planners and always found them to be open minded, [...]
Supply Side: Solar for “Lean Budgets”
A company is rolling out a plug-and-play solar system that is rated at 200W for $800 (companies website here). The NYT Green blog calls this a system for “lean budgets“. Let’s do some simple math assuming this device will produce 30 kWh/month (companies specs) for ten years:
800 dollars ÷ (30 kWh/month x 120 months) = [...]
LEED’s Fatal Flaw
The Yale360 blog had a post a week ago on LEED and it’s apparent failure to protect human health. I think LEED has done a lot to raise general awareness in the industry regarding energy and environmental issues when it comes to how buildings are designed, constructed and operated. However, I cringe when I hear [...]
Is America ready…..
I don’t know, is it? I always kinda wanted one in my house.
The moisture debate, continued.
There is lively back-and-forth discussion between Martin Holladay and Robert Riversong on the GBA discussion board about moisture management in wall assemblies. I’ve noted before that this is a critical but widely misunderstood issue. This discussion proves my point and adds another dimension: a lack of consensus among building professionals.
I tend to agree with Martin [...]
Retrofit Finance
BEP links to an article about a finance program launched in Bellingham, WA, for retrofit activities. I don’t know much about loan loss reserve funds (anyone care to explain them to me?), but I do know that the retrofit market is need of useful financing models and mechanisms, especially since PACE seems to be going [...]