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Green-minded homebuyers, rejoice! Now there's a way you can borrow money specifically for the purpose of owning a greener home. People have always taken out loans to increase their quality of life. But not until now could you take out a mortgage to save you money on the daily cost of living that newly increased quality of life.

Now you can purchase or refinance your home with a new, federally-recognized "green" lending product called the Energy Efficient Mortgage. Buyers can now qualify for larger loans on better quality homes with big monthly savings and higher potential resale value. Sellers can make their home more attractive and affordable to a changing market. Homeowners with no intention of moving can borrow to make money-saving improvements.

The Energy Efficient Mortgage (or EEM as it's called for short) bestows special benefits on a mortgagee (or borrower) who is using the money to either purchase an energy efficient home or making energy-saving improvements to their existing home.

Namely, EEMs allow homeowners to make older, money-sucking homes more comfortable and affordable while homebuyers can stretch their borrowing power and get a bigger loan on a nicer house than they ever could have otherwise afforded had the house no such energy saving features. This is achieved by allowing a greater percentage of the applicant's income to be applied to the mortgage payment since, presumably, they'd be saving so much money on energy bills by simply moving into the house.

If a borrower can qualify for a home loan, he or she qualifies for an EEM. The greater criteria, however, is whether the house itself qualifies? In order for that to happen, the house must be subjected to a thorough review by a trained Energy Rater who examines the house and the geographical area in question closely for such factors as:

- insulation
- efficiency levels of appliances
- types of windows
- local climate
- current utility rates

All the data collected is then analyzed in a Home Energy Rating Systems Report or a HERS Report. Factors are rated from 1 to 100 with 100 being the greatest degree of efficiency and 1 reserved for the least efficient systems. In the HERS Report, you'll find:

* the Overall Rating Score of the house in its current condition;

* recommendations of energy upgrades that cost less to install than the amount of energy-cost savings that the upgrades will allow for;

* an estimation of the cost of the upgrades and estimates of the annual savings and usable life-span of

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