Is Green Lending Your New Mortgage Niche?

Common Closing Fees

Lender Fee-This is the fee the lender charges to underwrite the loan

Title Fees-These are the fees the title company collects for closing the loan and doing the associated title searches on your property. This is generally broken down into closing fee, title fee and a courier fee if applicable.

Examining Common Mortgage Broker Fees

The hot topic in real estate is green homes. As better and cheaper products and materials became available, green or eco-friendly building spread to residential construction. There is anecdotal evidence, however, that green building is a growing factor in both new residential construction and remodeling. For example, the State of California just enacted the first statewide "green" building code and 6,500 builders have signed on to build Energy Star approved homes. USGBC's LEED program which originally monitored green commercial construction now offers five levels of certification for housing. Where a green house is just a regular home with green features, a plain vanilla mortgage will work just fine. The Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) program allows the borrower to incorporate the cost of some green improvements on the top of the approved mortgage without qualifying for the higher loan amount or basing the down payment on it. If there are lenders specializing in green loans they are doing a poor job of marketing. Google green mortgages, green lenders, or green mortgage brokers and you will get millions of hits but the top ones lead to blogs bemoaning the lack of green financing or to the Websites of mortgage brokers named Green.; USGBC's national green directory lists only six financing sources. The National Association of Realtors offers members a green designation, the Mortgage Bankers Association does not. First, learn the basics of green building and green home ownership. The National Association of Home Builders is active in developing green residential building standards and the Forest Stewardship Council certifies the sustainability of wood-based building materials. ;Marketing a green business focus is easy and relatively inexpensive. Contact green builders in your area as well as realtors, especially any holding the NAR green designation.