Assembly Bill 811

What does the Palm Desert Energy Independence Loan Program (AB 811) Mean for You?

Source: www.ab811.org

With the passage of AB 811, residents of Palm Desert, California, are the first in the nation to be able to finance the installation of energy efficiency improvements and distributed generation, renewable energy sources that are permanently fixed to real property within the City with low interest loans which can be repaid in up to 20 years using property taxes.

AB 811 - What’s in it for Them?

As the owner of residential or commercial real property, immediately enjoy a greatly reduced electric bill with no out-of-pocket expense;
If you sell the home or business, the new buyer can assume the payments, as each individual owner all benefit from the increased equity at sale;
Loans have a minimum of $5,000 and no maximum limits;
Loans are not subject to credit ratings or credit checks;
There are no limits to the amount of loans that you take out for improvements;
The interest rate is fixed at or near 7% and paid bi-annually through your property tax;
Loans can be used on a variety of energy efficiency improvements and the materials and labor required to install them properly. Efficiencies now include:

air conditioning and ventilation systems,
pool pumps,
energy efficient windows, doors and skylights,
window films,
tankless water heating equipment,
white -roofs and coatings.
Renewable energy sources now include:
natural gas fuel cells,
solar systems- both thermal and electric

AB 811 – A Step Method for City of Palm Desert Residents
You can use this as a model to incorporate the process into your city: Attend the city council meetings and suggest this idea.

1. The property owner decides what type of efficiency improvement and/or renewable energy conversion they would like to add to their home or commercial property and make sure that they do not have any current liens that will not allow them to subordinate the AB 811 lien;

2. They request and receive by e-mail, fax, regular mail or in person the AB 811 Application and simply fill in the personal and pertinent information including type of project they would like to spend the monies on, materials to be used, Contractor’s information and proof of contract detailing costs;

3. It may take a few weeks for the Energy management agency (OEM) or office of that city to evaluate and approve the application. A current tax lien would of course discourage approval, so if you’re having trouble with your title, taxes or other liens it’s probably not a very good idea to apply.

4. The City of Palm Desert has some of their own creative methods for approval - Projects with a cost of $20,000 or less require OEM approval though projects of $20,001 up to $200,000 require City Manager approval and projects over $200,001 require City Council approval so a few more days may be required until receiving the green light to move ahead; there is also a 6 month time limit to get the installation completed.

5. There are some creative financing methods as well! With projects above the $20,000 minimum, the owner can request a payment of no more than 50% of the contract price be funded to their account directly once OEM is satisfied that 75% of the materials required to complete the project are secured. This one-time payment will help pay advanced materials costs to the Contractor.

6. After that the balance of the Contract price is paid ten (10) days after OEM is satisfied project has been completed. All unused funds remain within the AB 811 program and the owner only pays on the funded amount (plus a Riverside County Tax Assessor processing fee- county where Palm Desert is located) on a bi-annual basis.