10% rebate on your CMHC / Genworth Mortgage Insurance through EnerGuide rating change

[canadianico]

I've had to pay almost 30k in Mortgage insurance and so I'm tempted to boost my EnerGuide rating to re-coop 10% of that amount as advertised. My house is semi-detached and about 100 years old, the furnace is old and so I suppose there is room for improvement... But I would much rather built a deck for the summer and do some other things instead right now UNLESS off course it's absolutely worth it.

What do you guys think and what company do I chose to do the initial assement (I live downtown Toronto).

THANK YOU!

[poodleche]

I just bought a brand new house and squeaked by with a 80 on the Energuide score. My rebate should be about $550.

I wouldn't have spent more than a few hundred to get the higher score though.

Also, I'm not sure you are able to get a rebate on CMHC mortgage insurance on a closed loan. I'm assuming your $30k is not for one mortgage (do you have a $1.5 million house??).

Enjoy the deck I say!

[licenced]

You are in need of or will soon need a furnace and you also want a new deck. if I can talk numbers for a minute perhaps this will assist you with coming to an answer...

The energy audit will provide $150 back for the first audit regadless of whether you make any changes and a high efficiency replacement furnace could provide a rebate anywhere from $375-790 each from Ontario and the Feds.

It seems to me that if you don't upgrade your furnace but instead direct your funds to the new deck then you have a new deck that qualifies for nothing and your furnace replacement will have to be addressed soon enough and you will have paid more for both.

My thought is that it may be a wise investment to pay for the energy audit and, presuming they recommend a new furnace, collect the $150 rebate for the first audit in Ontario plus with the $375-$790 times 2 rebate from both the province and the Feds. The furnace then would only have cost about 1/2 the price or less. Then, use the rebate towards the deck. You would then have installed a new furnace plus a deck for a sizeable discount say 30% of what it would cost otherwise, while enjoying the energy cost savings as well and maybe even qualify for the CMHC premium rebate if your new score increases by at least 5%.

Bear in mind that the Federal rebate policy requires that changes are made by March 31 of this year - sufficient time to arrange an audit and have a furnace installed and the re-check done.

I used Energuys two years ago for my audit and found them very informative where for insignificant dollars here and there I could boost my energy rating. They were chosen by chance- I happened upon them when, while a member of TREB's Education Committee they came in to request of us that we allow them to provide an eco-energy course to TREB's members. We approved it, and after attended the course as a critique, I immediately hired them to audit my home and learned a lot about a home's energy consumption during the exercise.

At this point I will add that an eco-energy upgrade does increase property values for up to 5 years.

To Poodleche: a rating between 80-100 is considered excellent.

I've had to pay almost 30k in Mortgage insurance and so I'm tempted to boost my EnerGuide rating to re-coop 10% of that amount as advertised. My house is semi-detached and about 100 years old, the furnace is old and so I suppose there is room for improvement... But I would much rather built a deck for the summer and do some other things instead right now UNLESS off course it's absolutely worth it.

What do you guys think and what company do I chose to do the initial assement (I live downtown Toronto).

THANK YOU!

[ronafryc]

I have just a few question. My wife and I are looking into building / buying our first home this year and according to the new Ontario Building Code, 2012 ALL NEW built homes will have an EnerGuide greater then 80. So this means any new first time home buyer like myself will qualify for an 10% rebate on my Mortgage Insurance since I don't have the 20% down. Right? Should I expect the home builder to pay for the audit now since its apart of the building code? Do new home buyers qualify for any government rebates?

Thanks,

[cliff]

The energy audit will provide $150 back for the first audit regadless of whether you make any changes and a high efficiency replacement furnace could provide a rebate anywhere from $375-790 each from Ontario and the Feds.

Ontario's program ended more then a year ago. The only credit available from Ontario is half the cost (up to $150) of the first audit - normally $300ish. You will need to pay the full $150 for the post retrofit audit.

With the current program, the payouts and guidelines have been tightened quite a bit, and make it substantially less attractive to use unless you plan on doing *a lot* of work in a short time frame (and at this point there are no new registrations, even though the program is still technically open until March).

[Fastman]

I have just a few question. My wife and I are looking into building / buying our first home this year and according to the new Ontario Building Code, 2012 ALL NEW built homes will have an EnerGuide greater then 80. So this means any new first time home buyer like myself will qualify for an 10% rebate on my Mortgage Insurance since I don't have the 20% down. Right? Should I expect the home builder to pay for the audit now since its apart of the building code? Do new home buyers qualify for any government rebates?

Thanks,

If you buy a new home in Ontario, it would have to be evaluated under the ecoENERGY new homes program. If the home has been lived in for 6 months or more, then it is evaluated under the ecoENERGY program. Most advisors are not certified under both systems.

Builders are not required to have the house evaluated. Perhaps the better builders will include the service to prove that their building is good and is up to code.

Yes, if the house scores 80 or more on the evaluation, you can fill in a form to get a cheque for 10% mailed to you from CMHC.

If your house does not score 80, then you need to do some upgrades so that the house improves by either 5 points or up to 80 (whichever is easier). You will then need another evaluation to document the new rating.

Provincial building codes in other provinces may or may not require score of 80. If you are lucky, your province will have a grant program to help pay for the upgrades. As of 2012 April, BC is one province that has a program.

Older houses that score way less than 80 may qualify by improving by at least 5 points and to at least 40. This will be way easier as a house that scores 40 can get 5+ points on the scale by installing a condensing gas furnace.


Donald,
certified energy advisor,
Homeperformance.com (certified advisors covering most of BC and Ontario)
1-877-732-9888