Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, (AHFC), recently introduced several incentives to try to help alaskans save money on energy. 

We have all heard about the energy assistance program where a one time check of $1,200 will be issued to all alaskans.  You should have that cash in hand soon if you qualify for a Permanent Fund Dividend.

But in addition to cash to pay heating bills, Governor Palin and the Alaska State Legislature approved three more programs to help alaskans use less energy.

These are the Weatherization Program, the Home Energy Rebate Program, and a Second Mortgage Program for Energy Conservation.

The weatherization program provides free energy saving renovations on homes for home owners and renters as well.  There are income limits on this program that are actually pretty generous. I think this is an amazing program that anyone who qualifies should use.  You need to be patient because there is a waiting list.  I believe it may be possible to receive up to $30,000 in renovations.  The decision of what and how to renovate is made by AHFC and not the homeowner or renter.

Then there is the rebate program.  There are actually two divisions of the rebate program.  One for current home owners and another for new home buyers.  There is no income limit for the rebate program.

• For new home owners, if you purchase a 5 star plus energy rated home, you receive a $7,500 rebate from AHFC.  Simple and to the point.  This is something to keep in mind while you are shopping for a new home.
• For existing home owners, you can also qualify for a rebate if you upgrade the energy rating of your home.  You need to document the current energy rating by having an energy rater test your home.  This costs $395 and will be refunded by AHFC if you follow through with the application.  The energy rater will give you options on how to upgrade and you decide how and what to do.  Then after you upgrade the energy rating and document it you can be eligible for up to a $10,500 rebate depending on the level of the energy upgrade.

The third program is the second mortgage for energy conservation.  If you would like to upgrade your home but don’t have the cash to spend up front you can borrow it from AHFC.  The rebate program for home owners requires that the upgrades be done before you receive the rebate so this creates a problem for cash short home owners.  That is where the second mortgage for energy conservation comes in.  You can borrow the money to make the upgrade and then pay the money back with the rebate after you receive it. 

To find out more about these programs, check out Alaska Housing website here.

If you have more questions about these programs or real estate in general feel free to call me at 907 232–7900 or email at marty@valleymarket.com