The initiative, called SmartMH℠ KY Alliance, will provide good loan rates, better terms and assistance with down payments or utility costs. MHProNews has learned Smart MH loans are now available through the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), which offers low cost mortgages and down payment assistance; CU Factory Built Lending Product offers home only, land/home, and land-in-lieu loans that will accept aging mobile homes as down payment towards the purchase of a new MH.
The ENERGY STAR upgrade program is administered by the Systems Building Research Alliance (SBRA) with support from KHC, East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which will pay participating manufacturers incentives to build the ENERGY STAR homes, thereby offsetting their additional costs. These homes feature increased insulation, efficient HVAC and high-performance windows to reduce leaks and drafts. A similar program in Tennessee led by TVA and SBRA increased ENERGY STAR home sales from one percent to over 60 percent of market share in three years.
In Kentucky over the past five years, less than one percent of the 2,000 homes sold annually were ENERGY STAR certified. It is anticipated the SmartMH℠ KY Alliance will increase ENERGY STAR manufactured home shipments to 50 percent in two years.
For more information, please visit www.SmartMH.org. ##
(Image credit: SmartMH.org)
