Real estate financing agency Freddie Mac expanded its efforts to foster the greening up of old buildings with its new Multifamily Green Advantage suite of offerings.
The new programs are available with most Freddie Mac multifamily loan products. Borrowers can choose either Green Up or Green Up Plus to get better pricing and increase their Freddie Mac loan amounts to finance energy and water efficiency improvements.
Green Up enables borrowers with qualifying properties to increase the amount of their eligible loan by up to 50% of projected energy and water savings. Green Up Plus increases the loan up to 75%, but this option requires a more detailed analysis, based on an ASHRAE Level 2 assessment.
Freddie Mac projects that about 200 properties per year across the U.S. will be able to go under Green Up or Green Up Plus. “We’re really targeting workforce housing—ideally, assets that are 20 years older or older and may not have had improvements over the past 20 years,” said a Freddie Mac executive.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Oct 16, 2015
Appellate court enacts nationwide stay on controversial expansion of Clean Water Act
New EPA rule suspended until court cases settled.
Codes and Standards | Oct 9, 2015
New California law means commercial building benchmarking program will be implemented
Multifamily housing to be included, a first for a U.S. state.
Codes and Standards | Oct 2, 2015
New ASHRAE guideline for commissioning existing systems and assemblies
Focuses on optimum facility and system operation.
Codes and Standards | Sep 18, 2015
New RELi standard addresses disaster resilience
Based on LEED model, may help lower insurance rates
Building Materials | Aug 28, 2015
Structural steel buildings specification available for second public review
Next year's specification open for comments until Sept. 21
Energy Efficiency | Aug 28, 2015
North American Passive House Network e-book explains Passivhaus, net-zero techniques
Free guide includes spotlight on individual projects
Windows and Doors | Aug 28, 2015
Newly formed group challenges Florida building code
Window, door companies oppose provisions that raise costs
Codes and Standards | Aug 28, 2015
New Orleans becoming a model for climate resilience only 10 years after Katrina
The city has moved ahead with resilience strategies that may become a model for other communities
Codes and Standards | Aug 21, 2015
Illinois governor vetoes bill that would restrict condo owners’ rights
Bill would have made it harder to sue for building flaws
Codes and Standards | Aug 21, 2015
Post-Katrina roofing codes creating more resilient buildings on Gulf Coast
Ten years after storm, notable progress on stronger roofs, IBHS says
