{"id":2243187,"date":"2024-05-13T03:04:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T07:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scams-proliferate-alongside-solar-buildout\/"},"modified":"2024-05-13T03:13:58","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T07:13:58","slug":"scams-proliferate-alongside-solar-buildout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scams-proliferate-alongside-solar-buildout\/","title":{"rendered":"Scams rise with the growth of solar installations"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fscams-proliferate-alongside-solar-buildout%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2243187&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Consumers are vulnerable to scams in unregulated loan programs, risking high-interest loans without full information. PACE financing\u2064 lacks \u200dconsumer protections, leading to property tax repayment risks and mortgage default. The mounting application rates for PACE loans drive concerns\u200c for consumer\u2062 well-being and advocate federal regulations for improved transparency and borrower safeguards. Consumers face scams in unregulated \u2063loan programs, risking high-interest loans without\u200c full disclosure. PACE financing lacks protections, increasing property\u200c tax\u2062 repayment and mortgage \u2062default risks. Rising PACE loan applications raise concerns, prompting calls for\u2062 federal regulations to enhance\u2063 transparency\u200c and borrower \u200bsecurity.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Reporter's Notebook: The international reaction to Biden's LNG pause\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2VCWhm2y5UY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Consumers are falling prey to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/scams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"scams\">scams<\/a> that have proliferated under largely unregulated loan programs designed to help <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/housing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"scams\">homeowners<\/a> make energy-efficient upgrades to their properties.<\/p>\n<p>Consumer groups allege the program is often used to sign consumers on to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/interest-rates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"high-risk, high-interest rate\">high-risk, high-interest-rate<\/a> loans, often with little knowledge of the terms of repayment or the possibilities of mortgage default and foreclosure.<\/p>\n<p>Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy programs are a type of loan overseen by state or local governments that allows private lenders to fund certain energy-efficient and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-green-lights-putins-pipeline\/\" title=\"Biden Administration Green Lights Putin\u2019s Pipeline\">renewable energy projects<\/a> that often carry high upfront costs.<\/p>\n<p>These projects range from the installation of solar panels or more efficient doors and windows to water efficiency upgrades and in-home electric vehicle charging.<\/p>\n<p>But there are few <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nclc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Joint-PACE-letter-072623-Steve-Sharpe.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"protections\">protections<\/a> afforded to consumers who utilize the loans, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blumenthal-bought-robinhood-shares-as-he-called-for-congress-to-investigate-gamestop-trading-frenzy\/\" title=\"Blumenthal Bought Robinhood Shares as He Called for Congress To Investigate GameStop Trading Frenzy\">consumer protection groups<\/a>. Unlike other loans, PACE financing is secured through a property lien placed on a borrower\u2019s home and does not require lenders to weigh factors such as a borrower\u2019s credit score or history before lending the money. They also require zero down payment, an alluring benefit for many borrowers.<\/p>\n<p>But the terms of repayment are stringent: PACE loans are repaid through the borrower\u2019s property tax \u2014 putting consumers at increased risk of delinquency, tax default, and, ultimately, foreclosure if they fail to adhere to the terms of repayment.<\/p>\n<p>Consumer groups have been sounding the alarm about PACE loans, pushing for federal regulation and more transparency for borrowers, which they say is increasingly important as the number of loans funded through the program continues to soar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Natural disaster hardening<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>PACE loans are not new. But application rates have <a href=\"https:\/\/files.consumerfinance.gov\/f\/documents\/cfpb_pace-rulemaking-report_2023-04.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"ballooned\">ballooned<\/a> in recent years, according to the most recent estimates, as more homeowners eye the loans as a way to make upgrades to their homes and protect against natural disasters, such as wildfires and hurricanes. (It is difficult to ascertain the exact number of PACE applications since they are obtained by state and local offices, but CFPB estimates and <a href=\"https:\/\/dfpi.ca.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/337\/2022\/08\/2021-CFL-Aggregated-Annual-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"reports\">reports<\/a> from California\u2019s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation have helped illustrate the rise.)<\/p>\n<p>Certain insurance companies, including many in California (which has witnessed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1446822\/home-insurers-pull-out-of-california-thanks-to-wildfires-and-state-regulations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"mass exodus of property insurance providers\">mass exodus of property insurance providers<\/a> in recent years), prioritize coverage for homeowners who have taken these home-hardening steps, giving consumers an added incentive to make the upgrades.<\/p>\n<p>But these upgrades are not cheap. Roof replacements, which are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/rules-policy\/rules-under-development\/residential-property-assessed-clean-energy-financing-regulation-z\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>most common type<\/a> of natural disaster hardening project and are increasingly necessary in many hurricane-prone states, average between $10,000 and $20,000 or more, depending on hourly wages or the square footage of a home.<\/p>\n<p>Interest rates for the loans also range between 8% and 9% \u2014 which, in many cases, can end up doubling the project\u2019s initial cost, according to data collected by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPACE loans may have certain benefits, but it can put you at risk of losing your home if you cannot afford the payments,\u201d the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/ask-cfpb\/i-am-considering-a-pace-loan-for-home-improvements-what-should-i-keep-in-mind-before-signing-up-en-2128\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"states\">states<\/a> on its website in large, bolded print. \u201cUnderstand the risks before signing up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lack of regulation, supervision<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are few protections in place to protect consumers from being taken advantage of by PACE loans, a spokesperson from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>After studying 200,000 PACE loan applicants over a six-year period, CFPB concluded in a <a href=\"https:\/\/files.consumerfinance.gov\/f\/documents\/cfpb_pace-rulemaking-report_2023-04.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"report\">report<\/a> that PACE loans are linked to increases in negative credit outcomes, higher rates of mortgage delinquency, and a whopping 88% average increase in property tax bills.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s worse is that lenders are also widely unsupervised: Many lenders go door-to-door to solicit sales \u2014 and disproportionately target lower-income communities, according to the National Consumer Law Center, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nclc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Joint-PACE-letter-072623-Steve-Sharpe.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"described\">described<\/a> the lack of supervision as leading to an \u201cavalanche of PACE abuses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PACE loans have been targeted by \u201cbad actors,\u201d they said, which \u201chave preyed upon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidenflation-causes-dollar-tree-to-raise-prices-by-25-percent-to-1-25\/\" title=\"Bidenflation Causes Dollar Tree to Raise Prices by 25 Percent to .25\">low-income consumers<\/a>, older adults, and homeowners of color.\u201d In certain states, lenders will go into areas with a majority of non-English-speaking residents or elderly residents, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2024-03-26\/l-a-county-settles-pace-loan-lawsuits-affected-home-owners-to-receive-millions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>documented<\/a> in a California class-action lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>These problems have gained more attention in recent years as more homeowners apply for funding to make their homes more efficient and protect against natural disasters.<\/p>\n<p>Certain states, including California and Florida, have either banned PACE loans outright or taken steps to better regulate the program.<\/p>\n<p>Most recently, Florida state lawmakers introduced two bills this year to reform its PACE program and increase consumer protections \u2014 a step they described as \u201clong overdue\u201d amid an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clickorlando.com\/news\/investigators\/2024\/02\/13\/new-bill-would-rewrite-pace-loan-program-to-protect-florida-consumers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"uptick\">uptick<\/a> in consumer complaints of predatory lending practices.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, CFPB is leading the charge to regulate the loan program at the federal level. In 2023, it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2023\/05\/11\/2023-09468\/residential-property-assessed-clean-energy-financing-regulation-z#footnote-298-p30425\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"introduced a rule \">introduced a rule <\/a>aimed at regulating PACE loans and financing nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed <a href=\"https:\/\/files.consumerfinance.gov\/f\/documents\/cfpb_residential-property-assessed-clean-energy-financing-regulation-z_2023-05.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>rulemaking<\/a>, which has earned the support of NCLC and other groups, would give CFPB the authority to dictate repayment rules for PACE loan financing, adjust disclosure requirements to better fit PACE loans, and help customers understand how the loans affect their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vulnerable-house-dem-penalized-for-late-property-tax-payments\/\" title=\"Vulnerable House Dem Penalized for Late Property Tax Payments\">property tax payments<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It would also require lenders to assess the ability of an applicant to repay the loan and apply provisions from the Truth In Lending Act for any violations \u2014 something the group said is necessary due to a lack of lender supervision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen unscrupulous companies bait homeowners into unaffordable loans with exaggerated promises of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-is-proposing-another-appliance-crackdown-ceiling-fans\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Plans New Ceiling Fan Regulations\">energy bill savings<\/a>, this can lead to serious financial distress,\u201d Rohit Chopra, the director of CFPB, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a preliminary matter, we have determined that certain aspects of PACE financing present consumer risks, which can lead to unaffordable payments,\u201d a CFPB spokesperson told the <em>Washington Examiner, <\/em>responding to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Incomplete projects, fraudulent signatures <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The scams that proliferated under some PACE lenders were highlighted most recently in Los Angeles County, which in March <a href=\"https:\/\/publiccounsel.org\/press-releases\/12-million-settlement-reached-in-los-angeles-clean-energy-predatory-loan-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"agreed\">agreed<\/a> to pay residents $12 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over its now-shuttered PACE program.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/publiccounsel.org\/press-releases\/12-million-settlement-reached-in-los-angeles-clean-energy-predatory-loan-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"lawsuit\">lawsuit<\/a> accused the county of failing to step in to protect vulnerable residents who were being targeted by lenders and looking the other way for years despite hundreds of complaints.<\/p>\n<p>Many plaintiffs said they were unaware of the terms of the PACE loan, as lenders targeted Spanish-speaking neighborhoods, while others said the contractors they hired never showed up to finish the projects.<\/p>\n<p>Others said they had never signed the paperwork in the first place \u2014 their signatures, they said, had been forged outright. <\/p>\n<p>In filing the lawsuit, then-Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/la-fi-pace-solar-lawsuit-20190404-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"described\">described<\/a> the actions as \u201coutrageous.\u201d \u201cIf the facts as we allege prove true,\u201d he said, it is \u201camong the most devastating scams that I can recall in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though Los Angeles County ended its PACE loan program in 2020, many plaintiffs said in March that they were continuing to recover from the financial devastation and years they spent living in constant fear of foreclosure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor years, we\u2019ve struggled to pay our bills because of our PACE loan,\u201d Zenia Ocana, one of the plaintiffs in the case, <a href=\"https:\/\/publiccounsel.org\/press-releases\/12-million-settlement-reached-in-los-angeles-clean-energy-predatory-loan-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> in response to the settlement.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is \u201csuch a relief,\u201d she added. After seven years, she said, \u201cI finally feel like we can breathe again.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Consumers are being targeted by scams within unregulated loan programs for energy-efficient upgrades. Allegedly, these programs lead to high-risk, high-interest loans without clear terms or understanding, putting homeowners at risk of mortgage default<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2650,"featured_media":2243188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP22224648913988-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2243187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP22224648913988-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2243187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2243187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2243187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2243187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}