Home : Programs and Services : Homebuyer Assistance : Gift of Green FAQs
MaineHousing is offering eligible borrowers who use a MaineHousing mortgage:
- A grant to help with the cash needed for closing, such as any required down payment, closing costs, and expenses that are prepaid.
- A coupon for a 2-part home energy audit.
The Gift of Green really is a gift - it will not be added to the loan amount and does not need to be paid back.
You may be eligible if you:
- Choose a low fixed rate First Home or Operation New Home mortgage from MaineHousing. To use one of these mortgages, you must be one of the following:
- A first-time homebuyer,
- A former homeowner who hasn’t owned their own home in the past 3 years
- A veteran or active duty military, or
- Buying a home in one of the 16 cities and towns most affected by the closing of the Brunswick naval air station.
While income and purchase price limits apply, most Maine homebuyers are income eligible, and most Maine homes are price eligible.
- Pay a portion of the closing costs – equivalent to at least 1% of the mortgage amount – from personal resources. (Personal resources can include gifts from family members.)
- Take a hoMEworks-approved homebuyer education class prior to closing, where you will learn more about financing a home – Purchase and Sale (P&S) Agreements, budgeting for unexpected expenses, and more.
Your minimum contribution, equal to 1% of the mortgage loan, may come from personal resources such as:
- Personal savings, checking, money markets, CDs, or trusts.
- A gift from a family member.
- Any earnest money deposit that is part of the real estate transaction.
Seller contributions and/or seller concessions are NOT an allowable source of funds for your minimum 1% contribution. Note that depending on the mortgage options you select – such as the type of mortgage insurance – you may need to contribute more than 1% of the loan amount to close. Seller contributions may be used to cover these additional closing costs.
No - The liquid asset limit was eliminated due to popular demand. We want as many people as possible to benefit from the Gift of Green promotion.
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Homeowners who make improvements identified in a home energy audit typically reduce energy consumption by 15% to 20% annually. A Maine certified energy auditor can help you identify those home energy improvements that will provide the most energy savings per dollar spent.
Even if you have a new home, you can benefit from a home energy audit and energy efficiency improvements. Home energy efficiency depends not just on the products used in your home – such as the amount and type of insulation – but also on how the products are installed.
A quality energy audit involves using an infrared camera and a blower door - tools that allow the auditor to find the biggest places where air is leaking into or out of your home.
Reevaluating your home with a blower door after home energy improvements are made helps you see how much of a difference the home energy improvements have made – and also to identify any areas that could use additional improvement.
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To apply, contact one of the more than 30 MaineHousing
participating lenders statewide.
If you are approved for the Gift of Green, your MaineHousing participating lender will provide the Gift of Green grant funds when you close your MaineHousing mortgage.
You will receive the Gift of Green Coupon for a 2-part home energy audit after your participating lender transfers your loan to MaineHousing, which is usually within a month of your loan closing. The Gift of Green energy audit coupon includes:
- Up to $350 for a Maine certified energy auditor to identify cost-effective energy improvements that can make your home more affordable to live in and heat.
- Up to $150 for a Maine certified energy auditor to reevaluate your home after energy improvements are made to estimate your energy savings.
If you wish to obtain an energy audit prior to closing your MaineHousing mortgage, you may do so and request reimbursement later after you receive your Gift of Green Coupon - so long as you use a Maine certified energy auditor and can provide a copy of the paid invoice with the name of the energy auditor who completed the work.
The coupon is not transferable.
A list of Maine certified energy auditors is provided at
www.mainehousing.org/energyauditservices.aspx. To be eligible for payment, the energy auditor you select must be on this list.
Please note that MaineHousing does not recommend, endorse or warrant the work of any companies, agencies or individuals on the list. As with hiring any contractor, be sure to ask about their experience and check their references.
When you contract for the initial home energy audit, negotiate up front or whether you plan to pay the auditor with your own funds and then submit the
Gift of Green Energy Audit Coupon to MaineHousing for reimbursement, or whether the auditor will accept the coupon as payment and submit it to MaineHousing. Instructions for redeeming the coupon are provided on the coupon.
The maximum amounts on the coupon are based on the costs of a typical energy audit in moderately sized homes. If you choose to have an audit performed that costs more than $350 for the initial home energy audit or more than $150 for the follow-up audit after home energy improvements are made, you are responsible for the additional costs.
You may want to specify that the audit include a written report with at least the following information:
- Assessment of existing insulation and recommendations for additional insulation if needed
- Assessment of existing ventilation and strategy for additional ventilation if necessary
- Results of a blower door test
- A detailed list of potential energy improvements and associated energy and cost savings
- A written explanation of the calculations
You also may want to specify that the second part of the energy audit, after home energy improvements are made, should include a written report with the new results of the blower door test, estimated energy savings, and an assessment of the quality of energy improvements made.
If you lose your coupon, please contact MaineHousing to request another copy. Email
myfirsthome@mainehousing.org, or call MaineHousing’s Homeownership Department at 1-800-452-4668, x663.
MaineHousing’s Gift of Green is entirely separate from federal tax credits. Being eligible for or receiving a MaineHousing Gift of Green has no effect on your eligibility for the federal First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.
For information on the federal First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, contact your tax professional or see:
Receipt of the federal first-time homebuyer tax credit is an opportunity to invest in home energy efficiency.
If you decide to invest in making your home more energy efficient, you may qualify for additional federal tax credits.
For information on federal energy efficiency tax credits, contact your tax professional or see:
Because the Gift of Green promotion is part of MaineHousing’s mortgage program, you may also use the
Purchase Plus Improvement Option to fund home energy improvements as part of your mortgage.
MaineHousing sells mortgage revenue bonds to private investors to fund its First Home mortgages, and funds generated within the bond resolution can only be used to help make mortgages affordable to first-time homebuyers. MaineHousing is funding the Gift of Green with these funds. There is no state or federal tax money used to provide the Gift of Green incentive.
MaineHousing’s Gift of Green provides the initial cash needed to make buying a home possible. The Gift of Green was designed to help more Maine people take advantage of opportunities in today’s housing market and realize the American dream of homeownership.
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