Energy Saver Home Loan Program

Homeowners in every municipality in Massachusetts are welcome to apply for Energy Saver Home Loans, if they

• Meet income limits, which vary by county and are based on total gross income of all owners listed on the deed
• Own a single-family home or 2-, 3- or 4-family residence in Massachusetts. Condominiums and cooperatives are not eligible. Trusts will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
• Use the home as their primary residence

Additional eligibility criteria apply. Contact the CSP for your community to learn more.

The interest rate will depend on the borrower’s income and will apply to the full amount of the loan covering all selected measures. An example of applicable interest rates is listed in Page 5 of the Energy Saver Home Loan Program Guide. Your CSP will provide additional information about the loan terms.

• Work with your CSP and lender to complete an early conditional loan approval.
• If your preferred contractor(s) are not on the approved contractor list, please let your Abode Decarbonization Consultant know right away. Abode can work with your contractor to help add them to the approved contractor list.
• Keep in touch with your Abode Decarbonization Consultant. After your site visit, you will have a two-week follow up call scheduled with them. Be sure to join this call to review the next steps. You can expect your Decarbonization Consultant to answer your questions within 1-3 business days.

Contractors must be approved to participate in the Energy Saver Program. You may choose from a list of approved contractors.

If you wish to work with a contractor who is not yet approved, they can apply to participate in the Energy Saver Home Loan Program.

Energy Saver Home Loans are made through number of lenders located across Massachusetts. Your CSP will connect you with a participating lender who serves your community.

The minimum loan amount for an Energy Saver Home Loan is $10,000 and the maximum loan amount is $100,000.

Yes, the Energy Saver Home Loan can be used with other loan programs.

The Energy Service Provider (ESP) for this program is Abode Energy Management.

Each Energy Saver Home Loan project now comes with the nationally recognized Pearl Home Performance Report at no additional cost to you! Pearl’s report highlights a home’s high-performing features and includes an appraiser’s report to support you when you go to sell your home. Learn more about Pearl Home Performance Reports.

1. Your Abode Decarbonization Consultant will help you refine your scope of work for your home improvements. They will discuss opportunities identified at your site visit, and work with you to ensure that the improvements you choose will support your goals for your home.
2. They will share the program approved contractor list to help you identify in-network contractors who can install your measure(s) of interest, work in your community, and meet your language preferences. Use the list to find contractors and start gathering quotes.
3. As you gather quotes, share them with your Decarbonization Consultant. They will help you review the quotes, provide feedback, and answer any questions you may have in finalizing your project plan.

After your site visit, you will work with your Abode Decarbonization Consultant to plan your project. During this time:

• You can expect to hear back within 1-3 business days, with 1-2 days being the targeted response time.
• Your Decarbonization Consultant will let you know if they need more time to research and fully address your questions.
• If you reach out to your Decarbonization Consultant while they are in the field, you will receive an auto-reply email with links to program resources and the contractor network page. If your message is urgent, please contact the Abode Program Team at energysaver@abodeenergy.com or 339-244-9002 and they will work to assist you as soon as possible.

No. For projects that are financed with the Energy Saver Home Loan Program, deposits paid out of pocket by customers to contractors cannot be reimbursed by the ESHLP. The disbursement process and timeline are made clear to contractors when they enroll in the program’s contractor network.

Yes! Visit the approved contractor list and click “languages” to select your preferred language.

Yes! Visit the approved contractor list, select your county, and

• To find a contractor who can complete multiple measures, select all measures of interest. This will display any contractors who can complete all selected measures.
• If you need support in using the contractor search tool, reach out to your Decarbonization Consultant!

Once you have selected final contracts, your Decarbonization Consultant will create your Loan Project Summary and connect you back with your Concierge Service Provider (CSP) for support with the final loan application. After finalizing your loan application, it can take up to 45 days to close your loan with your lender.

When you complete the intake process with your CSP at the start of the program, you can connect with a participating lender for an early stage “conditional approval.” Please stay in touch with your lender after this conditional approval and discuss your timeline expectations with them early on. Having conditional approval could help decrease the time it takes for you to close your loan after final loan application. Reference the Energy Saver Home Loan Program Guide (Page 6) for a general timeline.

Your lender and your MassHousing welcome letter will include this guidebook to help guide your next steps. Please reach out to the emails listed in this guidebook if you need support once your loan has closed.

For support with your Energy Saver Home Loan, please email us at eshlp@masshousing.com.

In order for a contractor to be paid the final disbursement, the borrower must submit a Borrower Completion and Consent form by email to eshlp@masshousing.com.

• For projects >$3000: Contractors will receive a 1/3 initial disbursement after loan closing and the remaining 2/3 final disbursement after project completion.
• For projects <$3000: Contractors will receive one final disbursement for 100% of the project cost after completion.
• All disbursements will be made in the form of two-party checks provided to the customer.

For any final disbursements to be made:

1. Your contractor must complete the Quality Assurance (QA) and Lien Waiver forms provided to them via email by Abode for the project. Your Decarbonization Consultant will review the QA and Lien Waiver, reach out to the contractor with any questions, and approve. Abode will inform MassHousing once a QA is approved.
2. You must submit the Borrower Completion and Consent form via email to eshlp@masshousing.com.

Once MassHousing has received QA approval and your Borrower Completion and Consent Form, they will process the final disbursement. To ensure timely payment to your contractor, submit the Completion and Consent Form as soon as possible after project completion to eshlp@masshousing.com.

A “change order” or “change in work” is needed when your original scope of work has changed and the contractor increases (or decreases) the total project cost accordingly. Please note that there is always a minimum 5% contingency included in your loan to cover these unforeseen cost increases.

1. Obtain an updated invoice from your contractor reflecting the cost increase or decrease.
2. Complete the Change Order Request accordingly.
3. Submit the Change Order Form to MassHousing at eshlp@masshousing.com.
4. MassHousing and Abode Energy Management will both review and approve.

There are no prepayment penalties for the Energy Saver Home Loan Program. A borrower can make additional payments to the loan at any time throughout the life of the loan, and the borrower can pay off the entire loan amount at any time prior to the payoff date with no penalties.

A recast, also known as a re-amortization, is a type of mortgage prepayment where a borrower makes a large one-time payment toward the principal balance of their loan. The lender then recalculates the loan based on the new balance, which results in a new amortization schedule and lower monthly payments. The interest rate and loan term remain the same. Please notify MassHousing by email at HOCustomerservice@masshousing.com or by phone at 888-843-6432 if you want to recast your loan once your final project is completed and before MassHousing closes your escrow account.

An Energy Saver Home Loan customer can recast the loan at no cost. To recast, the customer must apply a sum of $2,500 or higher to the principal balance. This can be from any source: e.g., funds from the escrow account after project completion, rebates/incentives/tax credits. This can be done multiple times throughout the life of the loan if the borrower chooses to do so.

If the borrower would like to recast their loan with these excess funds, they should contact MassHousing Home Ownership Customer Service team at HOCustomerservice@masshousing.com or 888-843-6432.

For questions on what you can do with your Energy Saver Home Loan when you refinance your mortgage, please contact the MassHousing Home Ownership Customer Service team at HOCustomerservice@masshousing.com or 888.843.6432 to discuss your options.

Yes, customers can come back to the ESHLP for a second time. The process will be similar to the one you completed for your first loan. Customers do not need to reduce their home’s energy use by another 20% when returning for a second Energy Saver Home Loan. Please note, it will be very important for you to review your eligibility with your chosen participating lender early in the process.

To access the Energy Saver Home Loan for a second time, please take the following steps:

1. Complete all projects in your original ESHLP scope and ensure that all contractors have received their final disbursements. Abode will then complete a final inspection walkthrough, and your escrow account will be closed.
2. Contact your Concierge Service Provider (CSP) to let them know you would like to return to the Energy Saver Home Loan Program. Be sure to contact your chosen ESHLP lender early on to make sure you are eligible to refinance due to the additional ESHLP debt added with the first loan.
3. Your CSP will update your intake documentation and connect you with your Decarbonization Consultant at Abode Energy Management to help plan and finalize your second project scope.

Homeowners who complete their projects can choose to enroll in utility monitoring using the Instapull platform at no additional cost. Instapull utility monitoring will help identify how your upgrades are performing and the impact they are having on energy use and operating costs. MassHousing will cover energy monitoring for three years post-renovations, and you can opt out at any time. Abode will speak with ESHLP customers about this at the site visit follow up conversation, and again when they return to your home after project completion for your final inspection walkthrough.

After your contractor completes their work, they must submit the required Quality Assurance (QA) documentation to Abode Energy Management, who will review the documentation for completeness and accuracy. Once the work is approved and the borrower has submitted the Borrower Completion and Consent Form, MassHousing will process the disbursement request. This process takes approximately 2-3 business days.

The borrower is responsible for ensuring timely payment to the contractor. To facilitate prompt processing, the borrower must complete the Borrower Completion and Consent Form once the work is finished and submit the form to MassHousing.

Any late fees imposed by the contractor due to delayed payment are the responsibility of the homeowner. Loan proceeds cannot be used to pay late fees.