SAN DIEGO — Renovate America, a leading provider of residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, announced that it has raised $50 million in growth equity from new and existing investors. Renovate America partners with local municipalities to provide the Home Energy Renovation Opportunity (HERO) financing program to property owners, who use it to finance a variety of home improvements to lower utility bills including high-efficiency HVAC, solar power, and more.
“HERO has helped thousands of homeowners invest in their home to save energy and water,” said JP McNeill, CEO of Renovate America. “We are fortunate to partner with over 165 cities and counties who have made HERO available to their constituents. In addition to helping homeowners save millions of dollars, HERO is helping communities create thousands of local jobs, lower mortgage foreclosures, stimulate local economies, and lower emissions. This additional equity investment will enable us to bring HERO to more cities and counties.”
HERO is made possible by PACE legislation that allows property owners to finance energy- and water-efficiency improvements through their property tax payments. Borrowers can choose the term of their loan (5-20 years), and interest on the payments is tax deductible. In addition, PACE assessments can transfer to the new owner when the property is sold in most cases.
Renovate America provides funding, administration, technology, training, customer support, and a full service call center that assists contractors and property owners with the application and approval process. The company’s software platform provides homeowners an easy way to submit applications and fill out all the necessary paperwork and documentation. HERO Protect provides all customers with consumer protections to ensure homeowners are satisfied. HERO Pro assists contractors with estimating and document processing. In addition, HERO Gov provides municipal leaders a way to track the number of projects, energy savings, environmental impact, and local jobs created in real-time.
“The HERO program offers comprehensive services that combine funding, software, and consumer protections,” said Scott McKinlay, executive vice president at Renovate America. “That combination of services makes home improvements available to more property owners more safely and affordably than ever before.”
HERO has been adopted by more than 165 California cities including San Diego, San Jose, Riverside, Anaheim, Fresno, and San Bernardino, among others. The program has financed more than $250 million in projects and created more than 2,300 jobs since it launched in December 2011.
For more information, visit www.renovateamerica.com/financing/hero.
Publication date: 7/28/2014
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