MELBOURNE, Fla. – A Brevard County couple said they are now in danger of losing their home after a state-approved, clean energy home improvement lender failed to pay an air conditioning contractor.
Rick and Cathy Yerkes were approved for a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loan by Ygrene Energy Fund in 2022.
In September of that year, they signed a contract with a Brevard County company to install a new air conditioning unit.
“They completed the job on a Thursday afternoon,” Rick Yerkes told News 6. “On Friday, I submitted the paperwork, and on Monday, they sent me a stop work order. I said it’s too late, the work is already completed. They said we’re out of funds, and we will not be paying.”
Ygrene sent a notice to its customers and its vendors on Oct. 22, 2022:
Effective immediately, Ygrene has suspended all PACE operations including funding. We are working hard to secure potential funding sources, however, there is no set date for when operations will resume. This suspension results in the suspension of Ygrene PACE financing only. It does not cancel any home improvement contracts. Property owners and Contractors should coordinate on any obligations under their contract and seek alternate forms of financing”.
Ygrene Energy Fund
Ygrene resumed operation in Florida in February 2023, but it has not paid the Yerkes’ air conditioning contractor, which has resulted in the contractor placing its own lien on their property.
“There’s a real chance we will lose this house over it,” he said. “We’re in foreclosure. If we don’t get a loan modification, we will lose the house.”
News 6 contacted Ygrene Energy Fund to ask why the contractor has not been paid.
In a lengthy response, the company stated, in part:
“Ygrene sent notices of the temporary suspension to the Yerkes, and provided several lternative financing options along with that notice. For any property owner who contacted Ygrene needing assistance with additional or alternative financing, Ygrene’s customer service team assisted them.”
“Notably, Ygrene did not hear from Mr. and Mrs. Yerkes regarding them needing any assistance finding alternative financing.”
“Ygrene is prevented from providing PACE financing to the Yerkes at this time.”
Ygrene Energy Fund Customer Care
What is PACE financing?
PACE loans were approved by the Florida legislature in 2010 as a way for some homeowners to make clean energy home improvements.
The loan amounts are attached to county tax rolls as assessments or liens, and the borrowers make one large payment each year that is billed with their property taxes.
In a previous News 6 investigation, Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph said PACE loans tend to target lower-income homeowners, people with poor credit and those who do not have a mortgage or escrow.
Ygrene’s federal fight
Around the same time the Yerkes were installing their new air conditioner, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Ygrene Energy Fund in California alleging deceptive practices.
“Ygrene’s unfair and deceptive acts and practices have injured and continue to injure consumers, interfering with consumers’ ability to sell and to refinance their homes, and subjecting consumers to substantial, unexpected expenses and personal hardship,” the lawsuit claimed.
Court records show just days after the lawsuit was filed, a federal judge sided with the FTC and fined the company $22 million and ordered the company to create a new structure to protect and educate consumers.
You can read the lawsuit and the judgment against Ygrene below:
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