Energy efficient

Another nudge in the direction of green building is coming to northern Nevada a green mortgage program.

The program, targeting the production home industry, has been tested in Las Vegas, says Lisa Negele, energy-efficient mortgage consultant for the firm Consol, a Stockton, Calif.-based energy consulting firm that markets the program.

The program, dubbed Comfortwise,works with lenders and developers to make mortgages available for homes that are built 30 percent more energy-efficient than the Model Energy Code.

The homes also exceed standards of Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Homes program.

"Validation is the key to the program," says Janie Glidden, Consol's northern Nevada representative.

"We don't ask anyone to change their operation," adds Glidden.

The mortgages are wholesaled through a direct channel to production builders.

The difference is in the amount a buyer can qualify for.With lower monthly energy costs validated and promised, the buyer can qualify for a higher loan and more house.

Or upgrades.

The dollars trickle up to the builder.

Many of the loans are targeted at the firstand second-home buying market, says Negele.

Builders use the program for market differentiation being green.

Or simply to broaden their reach to a greater cross-section of buyers.

But it starts with the building and the green design.

So, the production home-builder is constructing to a higher standard, says Glidden.

As the energy advocate firm enters the northern Nevada home market, she adds, the strategy will be to cater to the buyer profile of the builder."That profile drives the strategy," she says.

The energy efficient mortgage is the carrot to encourage green design and energyefficient living.