BMO Eco Smart Mortgage

Mortgage.  Everyone's favourite word, right? 

As a kid, the word 'mortgage' once was a word I thought was only used by people my parents' age.  It was a 'grown up' word.  I find it interesting that when we were younger, our biggest worry was what we were going to wear to the NKOTB concert (just in case Jordan Knight should happen to spot us in a crowded stadium and fall in love with us).  Now, my peers and I are thinking about mortgage rates and other fun stuff related to home ownership.

Another thing I noticed was that more and more of my peers are also thinking "green". Whether it be because we are more environmentally conscious than we once were or because now we have families of our own and being green helps not only the environment, but also our bank accounts, more and more of us are looking for eco-friendly solutions.  This is especially true of our choices when it comes to our homes.  I know for us, Hubby and I have installed all brand new windows and properly insulated our old farm house.  We have passive solar energy from our greenhouse and we've replaced most of our large appliances to make sure they are Energy Star approved. We also replaced our water system to make sure it is Energy Star approved.

I was excited to discover that BMO wants to encourage and reward Canadian homeowners who are looking to reduce energy consumption and offer them a special mortgage rate!  Canadians who meet BMO's energy efficiency criteria can be offered the BMO Eco Smart Mortgage -- a new mortgage product with market leading five-year fixed rate of 3.89 per cent.

HOW IT WORKS
Homeowners can simply download the appropriate checklist (for house or condo) from the BMO website.The check-list includes things such as: High-efficiency heating and cooling systems, Solar, tank-less or ENERGY STAR qualified hot water system and ENERGY STAR qualified windows, doors and major appliances. After going through the checklist, if the homeowner feels their home meets all the criteria and qualifies, they can contact BMO branch to speak with a mortgage specialist. An appraiser will be sent by BMO to confirm whether or not the house qualifies.

To qualify, 6 out of 7 items must be met. We almost qualified. Not all of our appliances are Energy Star approved (we have three old chest freezers in the basement that store our meet and produce from our farm and one of the freezers isn't Energy Star approved ). Our greenhouse is attached to our kitchen and it isn't insulated according to the guidelines set on the checklist.

Though Hubby and I are environmentally conscious, our house is indeed old and does need some improvement to be even more energy efficient.

For the checklists and more information on BMO Eco Smart Mortgage, click here.

WAIT! There's more!

WIN a $50 RONA gift card! One lucky winner will win a $50 gift card (you know, so you can use it to buy items from RONA to make your house even "greener")!

All you have to do is tell me in a comment here what your future plans are to make your home more energy efficient.

Giveaway open to Canadian residents only. Ends on May 15, 2011.

Disclosure – I am participating in the BMO Eco Smart Mortgage program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of BMO - Bank of Montreal.  I received a gift card as a thank you for my participation.  The opinions on this blog are my own.