POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The tax collector for Polk County is warning homeowners about property-assessed clean energy, or PACE, home-service loan offers.
"I believe homeowners are being misled," said Polk County Tax Collector Joe Tedder.
PACE offers a loan program to homeowners to finance upgrades that make their property more energy-efficient.
"It could be things like new windows, solar panels, new air conditioning, installation things like that," Tedder said.
Tedder said property owners that participate in a PACE program are told by contractors that they don't have to make regular loan payments; instead, it will be added to their property tax bill once a year.
"The citizen thinks, well, this might be a great deal. Our concern is all of a sudden their tax bill is much higher than it normally is, and now because it's part of the property tax bill, they will actually lose their property if they do not pay for it,” Tedder said.
PACE programs are typically enabled through state legislation and authorized at the local government level in areas including Lake Wales and Haines City.
Earlier this month, the Polk County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution that PACE loans should not exist in unincorporated Polk County.
"So, if a citizen from Lakeland gets approached from a contractor saying, I'll put all these windows in, and all you have to do is pay for it in your tax bill once a year. They do not have authority to do that in the City of Lakeland," said Tedder.
How should you pay for these upgrades? ABC Action News took that question straight to a local loan officer. Dion Link, a senior loan officer with Roost Lending, said homeowners should look into options with their local bank or credit union and shop around.
"We have different programs like the Rehab Program where we could use the equity in their home to fix up whatever they have as long as they have the value that they need," Link said.
Also, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
"You have to pay the taxes, and all of a sudden, this now will come due once a year, all on one bill, and that is a lot for someone to swallow," said Tedder.
