Call TODAY to support down payment assistance!
This Thursday, the House holds a floor vote on the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (HR 5019) legislation which includes $600 million to replace pre-national code mobile homes with ENERGY STAR manufactured homes.
The amendment tracks a proposal by CFED to expand upon Senator Jon Tester’s (D-MT) legislation, The Energy Efficient Manufactured Housing Act of 2009 (S. 1320).
ASK your Representative to vote for HR 5019. The Capitol Switchboard’s number is (202) 224-3121.
The Senate is expected to move the legislation as part of a Jobs Bill in the next few weeks. Ask you Senator to cosponsor S. 1320. Send an email (click Take Action! above) or call your Senators to ask that they cosponsor S. 1320.
Both bills attempt to close the gap between the cost of the new home and the homeowner’s income limitations. In 2007, the median income for households living in pre-code homes was $24,000, compared with $58,000 for the median income of households living in single-family detached structures. The legislation
Provides $7,500 for down payment assistance to low-income homeowners to replace their outdated mobile homes with ENERGY STAR homes.
Provides $2,500 to cover the cost of decommissioning, removing and recycling the old home.
Permits replacement of substandard mobile homes with ENERGY STAR homes as an eligible use of up to $6,500 of the American Recovery and Renewal Act Weatherization Assistant Program funds (Senate bill only). Current law forbids weatherization funds from being used for replacement.
The Senate language has stronger buyer protections, requiring that buyers own the land or have at least a ten-year land lease. CFED does not want to see homebuyers evicted from their land-lease community, lose their home and any accumulating equity while still having a loan repayment obligation to meet.
This innovation is a compelling trifecta because it creates jobs, conserves energy and provides affordable quality housing. CFED is part of a coalition recommending an investment of $500 million a year for three years. At that level, it will provide
Jobs – as many as 51,000 manufacturing, construction and financing jobs all in the U.S. The down payment assistance will generate more than $8 billion in construction related spending with the potential to generate tax revenue exceeding its cost.
Nationwide energy cost savings – estimated at more than $240 million a year. For a family, the average energy cost savings are about $1,800 per year or $150 a month. The estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is 1.4 million tons.
Quality affordable homes with security of tenure – funds can help nearly 135,000 struggling families to live in attractive and affordable homes that enable them to achieve greater financial stability. CFED recommends that assistance be limited to homeowners who own the land or have long-term leases on the land where the new home is sited.
Click here to view the webcast of the March 11 Senate Energy & Natural Resources hearing (Ms. Epperson’s remarks are at 1:08:31; 1:32:45 and 1:44:08) or here to read her written testimony.
Submitted by:
Don Westphal
Donald C. Westphal, Associates
71 North Livernois Ave.
Rochester Hills, MI 48307
PH: 248-651-5518
Fax: 248-651-0450
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