Energy-Efficient Housing Made More Affordable with Mortgage Loan Insurance

February 13 2008
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/moloin/moloin_008.cfm

More than 17 percent of the energy consumed in Canada is used to run our homes. Buying an energy-efficient home or making energy-saving renovations can offer big savings. A 10% CMHC mortgage loan insurance premium refund and extended amortization periods of up to 40 years without surcharge may be available when you use CMHC insured financing to purchase an energy-efficient home or make energy-saving renovations.

Mortgage Loan Insurance

For most people, the hardest part of buying a home — especially a first home — is saving the necessary down payment. To help, CMHC offers lenders Mortgage Loan Insurance, which allows you to buy a house with little or no down payment. Offered through most financial institutions, this simple solution has enabled millions of Canadians to realize the dream of homeownership.

CMHC made dreams of homeownership easier to obtain by introducing flexibilities for borrowers to purchase with no downpayment, or allowing qualified home buyers to use additional sources of funds for downpayments such as a loan or lenders’ cash back incentives.

Help the Planet, Help Your Wallet

CMHC has added environmentally friendly features to the Mortgage Loan Insurance it offers. If you use CMHC insured financing to buy an energy-efficient home, purchase a house and make energy-saving renovations or renovate your existing home to make it more energy-efficient, a 10% refund on the Mortgage Loan Insurance premium may be available. You could also have the added flexibility of a longer amortization (the period of time required to repay your mortgage) from 25 years to a maximum of 40 years, significantly reducing your monthly payments.

The Government of Canada actively promotes energy conservation and initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

How It Works

Obtaining an energy assessment through an NRCan qualified energy advisor.

NRCan has developed an energy assessment and labelling system to help homeowners make energy-saving choices when buying a home or renovating. For a fee, a NRCan qualified energy advisor will evaluate the house to determine its energy efficiency rating on a scale of 0 – 100.

For more information, including information on the Government of Canada’s ecoEnergy initiatives, please visit:

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca