The bill instructs lenders with loans backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration, (which is about 90 percent of the market) to account for expected energy cost savings.

Those savings must then be factored into how much the borrower can afford in a monthly mortgage payment, so the energy savings are essentially subtracted from a borrowers expenses.

“You would be amazed at how a few dollars can make a difference in a transaction, $50 in a monthly payment, because people calculate their purchase and what to borrow based upon what it’s going to cost them per month,” argued Isakson.

The bill also tells lenders to add the value of expected energy savings to the value of the home in the appraisal. Since mortgage amounts are based on a percentage of the value of the home, this would allow borrowers to get a bigger mortgage.

(Read more: Housing starts stall, optimism doesn’t)

That’s where homeowners, like Tamara Lyons in Darnestown, Md., who already have green technology in their homes, will be able to make more money when they sell. The value of green will be in the appraisal.

“A lot of my neighbors feel that it’s too much of an initial investment, and they don’t want to put that money down,” explained Lyons, “But, if they see that it’s going to add to the value of their home for resale purposes I think it would definitely make the idea more sexy and more appealing.”

The legislation could also benefit companies that are investing heavily in green product development.

“Certainly companies like Dow or Home Depot who have been working on selling and highlighting their energy-efficient products. Insulation manufacturers … the whole host of manufacturers who make the products that go into the homes that make them more energy efficient,” said Stephen Cowell, CEO of Conservation Services Group.

“So we have a host of technologies and this would give manufacturers, builders, retailers and retrofit companies all an opportunity to begin reaching consumers to say ‘if you take advantage, if you put these products in, you can increase your home’s value’ because it’s now available to a broader range of homebuyers in the marketplace.”

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100899584

International real estate investment and services firm Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW) today announced that it added a supplemental loan to the existing financing on Summer House Apartments, a 615-unit multifamily community that it acquired with one of its investment partners in 2010. On December 31, 2012, the company and its partner closed a $19.4 million Freddie Mac loan arranged by Berkeley Point Capital. Including this transaction, the financing on Summer House now totals $90.2 million at a fixed rate of 4.44% and maturity on November 1, 2020. Kennedy Wilson’s initial investment in the property was $2.8 million. Through this financing and previous property cash flow, the company has received a total of $3.8 million of distributions. Kennedy Wilson invested 15% of the equity in this property and, based on the distributions to date, is receiving 30% of current distributions due to its promoted interest in the property.

“This transaction exemplifies the company’s ability to produce profits in a variety of ways,” said William McMorrow, chairman and CEO of Kennedy Wilson. “We were able to take advantage of current financing opportunities and return the company’s original equity while maintaining ownership in a property located in a growing market. Additionally, we were able to sell a property in the same area that we believe has reached its stabilized value.”

On December 28, 2012, Kennedy Wilson, through its KW Property Fund III, completed the sale of Rutherford Townhomes, a 66-unit apartment property in Napa, California, for $8.7 million. The company’s KW Property Fund III originally purchased the asset for $6.6 million in 2009, producing a 1.7x gross equity multiple after the sale. Kennedy Wilson owns approximately 12% of the fund before its promoted interest.

Article source: http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/01/03/2413819/kennedy-wilson-completes-financing.html

There’s no question that consumer confidence, or lack thereof, is the greatest barrier in the way of a full-blown housing recovery.

Credit, while tough to get, is historically cheap, home prices have fallen so far as to open the market to many more buyers, and there is ample inventory from which to choose.

The trouble is, no one wants to catch a falling sword, and home prices are still falling.

So what if you had a guarantee that even if your home lost value, you wouldn’t lose your initial investment? That’s the idea behind EquityLock Financial’s new “Home Price Protection.” It’s not insurance, but a warranty that you buy based on an index of home prices in your local area.

Here’s how the company describes it:

You purchase an EquityLock Home Price ProtectionTM contract that refers to a local index of housing values. If the index has dropped by the time you sell the house, we pay you the percentage of the index drop multiplied by the value of your home at the time you bought the Home Price ProtectionTM contract.

The transaction is structured as a contract, and not as an insurance policy; therefore the payment is made if the market index falls, regardless of whether you sell the home for more or less than you paid for it.

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Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/42419431?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS