PACE Financing

Overview

“PACE” stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy. PACE financing allows individual property owners to voluntarily join an assessment district and borrow money for the purpose of making energy or water efficiency improvements to their property. The property assessment is paid back over time on the property owner’s property tax bill. The voluntary assessment is created when the property owner enters into a contract, known as a “contractual assessment,” with a PACE financing provider.

  1. PACE for Property Owners
  2. PACE for Providers
  3. Contact Us

PACE for Property Owners: 

The following PACE financing providers have been approved to work with property owners within unincorporated Contra Costa County. 

To Make a Complaint:

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) is the State agency responsible for regulating the PACE financing industry in California. To submit a complaint to DFPI concerning the activities of a PACE lender, please click the following link:  https://dfpi.ca.gov/file-a-complaint/

DISCLOSURE:

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates the mortgage lending industry, discourages entities it regulates from purchasing mortgages on properties that have a PACE lien. As a result, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not purchase mortgages for either home sales or re-financings that are encumbered with first lien PACE (or similar program) loans. Property owners who enter into a PACE loan may experience difficulty obtaining traditional mortgage financing on their property unless the PACE loan is first fully paid off in advance.

FHFA has urged Contra Costa County to inform potential borrowers of the policies of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to provide them the web addresses that property owners can utilize to determine whether their mortgage is currently held or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
External website links: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac