Although the supply of green mortgages is still much lower than in the case of other mortgage loans, it seems that the demand grows every day. The concern for energy efficiency and the environment occupies more and more space when making the decision to buy a home.
According to the I Study of green finance in Spain, carried out by ASUFIN (Association of Financial Users), “25% of the population considers it important that the investment carried out is sustainable”. The report also highlights that, sometimes, the economic conditions imposed by banks for this type of mortgage are worse than in the case of conventional mortgages.
Still, is it possible to pay less for a sustainable home that doesn’t have a negative impact on the environment?
Banks reward the environmental awareness of their customers
There are already entities that encourage the purchase or rehabilitation of highly energy-efficient homes by offering lower interest rates than those of conventional mortgages. That is, the better the rating of the property, the lower the interest on the loan.
But in order to access a green mortgage it is necessary to meet a series of requirements:
- The most important is, of course, that the home for which a loan is requested meets all the required conditions of energy efficiency. The rating of the property must be A or A +.
- A good level of solvency must be demonstrated. That is, to be granted this type of mortgage they will require us to have a stable job, a high income, money saved, etc.
If we meet these requirements we can access a cheaper mortgage under more advantageous conditions. Of course, in many cases they will require linkage and / or require certain commissions.
Some of the entities that offer green mortgages
Triodos Bank was the first bank to offer such loans. It currently offers variable and mixed mortgages with interest that depends on the energy rating achieved by the home: Euribor + 1.05% for the A + certification. For G it is Euribor + 1.29%.
Liberbank currently sells Oxygen Mortgages, which can be fixed or variable rate. They are only granted for housing with A.
Banco Mediolanum offers the Freedom Green Mortgage for properties with energy rating A or higher.
Banco Santander and BBVA also have specific products to acquire sustainable housing.
EeMap Project Project or the European Green Mortgage
EeMAP is a Horizon 2020 project coordinated by the European Mortgage Federation whose objective is to create a standardized energy efficiency mortgage at European level. Through it, building owners receive incentives to improve their energy efficiency “or to acquire a property that is already efficient under preferential financing conditions linked to the mortgage”.
According to its promoters, energy efficiency reduces the risk of defaults for banks. In addition, this increases the real estate value of homes.