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Lining up a Green Loan worth the effort
Federal Government’s Green Loans program has been getting a bit of negative media lately, with their accreditation program targeted. However it’s important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Green Loans is a scheme to give householders up to $10,000 interest-free over four years to pay for environment improvements to their homes.
I declare my interest here because I recently received my Green Loan and from a personal point of view I’m happy with the scheme. I used the loan to fund a solar power system on my roof and a four star energy efficient refrigerator.
I calculate that the savings on my energy bills will cover a lot of the loan repayments, but I will have to dip into my pocket to pay the rest. In four years I’ll have it all paid off, and my solar power system should keep pumping its power into the grid for at least another 20-25 years.
The process of getting the loan was slow, so you don’t want to be in a hurry. The first step is a home assessment by an accredited assessor who lets you know in a report what home improvements are eligible for funding.
Armed with a list of approved items, I then shopped around for the ones that I agreed I wanted. The tricky bit was getting the supplier invoices at the same time and prior to installation, then taking them to the lending institution. The loans system can’t seem to cope with staggered payments, so lining them up at the same time was a bit of a challenge.
But it was worth it – after all, we are talking interest-free here.
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