Ygrene Energy Fund

DO NOT USE THEM!
DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER USING THEM!
They put a lien on my house even though they never issued me a payment, I only started the process and decided to go another route.
Then come to find out they put a lien on my house.
Took forever to resolve, their customer service is terrible
They have no idea what is going on

If you need to get work done quickly, then check Ygrene out. The process to qualify was so quick we couldn’t believe it. They should advertise so more people will hear about this program. The best part is that the entire payment to pay back is tax deductible.

If you have good credit you can get a better deal. Getting a loan like this that you can write off as basically a second mortgage is great. Their customer service was always awesome. I also found their fees to be high. I HATE prepayment penalties and they have one. I can’t remember how much. Another review said 5%. So that’ll happen if we sell our house. Also, the salesmen didn’t even know but FYI the loan can only be assumed by a Conventional buyer. FHA cannot assume the loan so you’ll payoff with your proceeds. All in all, we had some issues with our contractor and Ygrene backed us all the way. We really appreciated that.

Do not use Ygrene Energy Fund, I made a horrible mistake and didn’t complete enough research prior to using. The amount of capitalized interest eve before you pay the first bill is outrageous and you are unable to pre-​payments unless you pay it in full and even then you still have to pay a 5% early payment fee. There are other good energy funding companies out there stay away from this one. Don’t use this service unless you have absolutely no other options.

If you have no other option then go for it. They are not very up front with their fees that suddenly appear out of thin air, and the tax advantage statement sounds to good to be true.
I’m going to play the lottery in hopes of winning $ 10,000 so I don’t have to sign this bloody document.

We replied to a Ygrene mailer because we were considering energy efficient upgrades, solar panels, central heat and air (HVAC), and we needed to replace our roof. Ygrene assured us the entire project ($ 55,000) would be tax deductible (both interest and principal) and the 6.5% interest would actually be a negative rate when that was taken into account. After being approved, we commissioned work on our roof (we’re ¾ of the way done with it), re-​doing our attic insulation, getting a few new windows and having our old furnace removed (we can’t back out of the HVAC job), Ygrene sent us the final loan docu-​sign which included previously undisclosed: (1) a 3% fee for the loan, i.e., $ 1650, (2) a 1% fee to the state $ 550, and (3) escrow and other fees totaling $ 660. Essentially, they induced us to take their loan touting only its benefits and without disclosing all the fees. (It was stupid of us to trust them, but we talked to them extensively about all the variables while running the numbers, and not once did these fees come up.)
Finally, we talked to our accountant and asked him whether the principal on the loan would in fact be tax deductible, and he said he had never heard of that being the case — only the interest. I confronted Ygrene about this, and they said it’s their position this loan is a «Mello-​Roos» and therefore deductible. I asked them if they’d put that in writing and agree to indemnify me in the event the principal is not tax deductible, and the agent said he’d get back to me on that and never did.
When we ran the numbers with only the interest being deductible and the fees, it was a bad deal. The interest rate of 6.5 percent is high, (Citibank offered me a 4.5 percent home equity loan with no fees last year), and the interest deduction doesn’t offset the high rate and loan fees. So we’re going to pay our contractors out of pocket, and because of the cash crunch that’s causing, look to a standard home equity loan as a result. But after this experience I’d advise (1) Ask that they disclose all the fees up front; and (2) Make them put in writing that the principal is deductible or assume it is not. But honestly, I’d advise not to do business with them at all.

If it sounds too good to be true, it may be.
Yes, Ygrene does in fact provide financing for clean energy upgrades to your help. However, as with everything, this program comes with a cost. Having just spoke with a Yrene rep, I learned that there would be upwards of $ 3000 in random fees associated with my $ 24,000 loan. Sure, it can all be written off, but those fees are on top of the interest rate associated with the loan.
This is not to say that this is not a good option for some people. It may be. But, as always, do your due diligence.

I love the Ygrene Program, it has helped so many homeowners who otherwise could not do energy efficient up grades to their homes get them done.
Yes there are fees and interest as with any financing but all with tax benefits and energy savings to really help the public.
The array of products that they help you with is huge, and the payment stays with the home, so the new owners get the tax benefits too.
I Love The YGRENE program