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Ygrene Energy Fund Inc. and Ygrene Energy Fund Florida LLC are facing a class action lawsuit alleging they engage in deceptive sales practices to entice consumers into obtaining Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans.
According to the Ygrene Energy class action lawsuit, PACE loans are a type of financing structure that allows residential property owners to opt in to a special assessment district to receive financing for energy improvements and retrofits. These loans are reportedly repaid through a yearly assessment on the owner’s property tax bill.
The Ygrene class action lawsuit was filed by plaintiffs Grachian L. Smith and Mary Jane Smith of Broward County, Fla., and Alejandro Marcey and Felicia Marcey of San Diego County, Calif. The plaintiffs claim that the Ygrene Energy defendants enlist ill-trained and self-interested home improvement contractors to sell PACE loans to homeowners.
“Ygrene aggressively markets PACE loans through a network of 3,200 home improvement contractors,” the PACE loan class action lawsuit states. “It provides little to no training to these individuals before they are set loose on unsuspecting customers.”
According to the Ygrene class action lawsuit, once the contractors receive their Ygrene certification, they are pressured to maximize their own profits.
“Through this sales force, its marketing, and loan documents, Ygrene deceives consumers into believing the PACE loan is a risk-free, no-strings-attached program, backed by government support that allows immediate energy efficiency improvements to a home in exchange for nothing more than increased tax assessments,” the Ygrene class action lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs allege that, as part of its sales efforts, Ygrene markets its PACE loans as a “smart alternative” to traditional loan products, such as a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC).
“In reality, the loans act just like second or third mortgages,” the Ygrene class action lawsuit claims.
According to the Ygrene Energy class action lawsuit, the defendants also conceal important information about the PACE loans, including prepayment penalties and/or fees assessed by Ygrene to avoid prepayment penalties. The Ygrene Energy class action lawsuit alleges Ygrene’s marketing materials and other sales approaches inform consumers that the loan will remain with the home and not the borrower.
However, the PACE loan does not actually remain with the home, and the PACE loans “make it impossible or nearly impossible for consumers to sell their homes without first paying off the loan and incurring a large prepayment penalty,” the Ygrene class action lawsuit says. Therefore, the PACE loan is an encumbrance that allegedly functions much like a HELOC.
The plaintiffs claim that they would not have entered into an agreement through Ygrene if they had known that the PACE loan was effectively no different than a second mortgage.
By filing the Ygrene class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek to represent themselves and other consumers who entered into a PACE loan facilitated by Ygrene.
The PACE loan class action lawsuit asserts claims against Ygrene for violation of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, violations of California business law, violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and negligence.
The plaintiffs are represented by Kenneth S. Kasdan, Graham B. LippSmith and Jaclyn L. Anderson of Kasdan LippSmith Weber Turner LLP and Jeffrey D. Kaliel of Tycko & Zavareei LLP.
The Ygrene PACE Loan Class Action Lawsuit is Grachian L. Smith, et al. v. Ygrene Energy Fund Inc., et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-01258, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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139 thoughts onYgrene Class Action Says PACE Loans Are Bad For Homeowners
so sick to my stomach. I was told I could sell my house and the Pace loan just goes along with the house. I was NEVER told about any prepayment penalty. I was never told they would reassess property tax. I bought my home from my father, in Cali. If house is bought from parent, no reassessment required. So I pay property tax on the assessed value my dad was paying when i bought it, which is $100,000 leas than my purchase price. now if they reassess, I will be royally screwed. dunno how i will afford all this. please, add me to the class action suit
Does anyone know if I join the class action will my contractor be affected?
I am a watchdog blogger in Lake County, FL. I attend all Lake County Board meetings, and all of a sudden a cryptic item on the agenda added there by a liberal on the Board resulted in a full pitch by PACE and their finance rep. I gave public input on it, and sent warnings to the Board based upon research on Solar City and other solar scams. They scheduled a follow up visit by PACE after staff “researched” them and my warnings. This week the County attorney found out about the PACE deceptive marketing lawsuit and others can be found.
Florida recently passed 1 or 2 Constitutional Amendments that made it easier for such firms to market solar without utility add on fees or participation. Solar City opened an office in Orlando, and they are the subject of an 11 part investigation by Watchdog.org. Today, May 24, 2017, the Orlando Sentinel published a tout piece on the League of Women voters fronting a program to setup co-ops to sell solar systems. No resarch into finance schemes was provided. Attorneys will have a field day as solar rolls out. I am waiting for Tesla’s new solar roof shingles to expand since they bought Solar City and we will see what deceptive marketing and financing schemes are used.
Caveat Emptor in buying solar.
Same story. We are improving our 60 yr old home. Used Ygrene for solar and AC in Feb 2016 being told we were trading in our electricity company for Ygrene. Then found out the week of funding our FHA home improvement loan in Dec 2016, Ygrene had to be paid off first, and we lost our loan.
Me also, I was just informed that I cannot do a refinance because of this program. I specifically asked these questions before I opted for the PACE program. What attorney’s are handling this suit, that I may be able to join it also?
Sorry, I am in Broward County South Florida also.
I paid out $92,000 AND my property taxes quadrupled. They are a complete scam. I called the law firm handling the class action in California and requested to be added today. I haven’t been contacted yet, but, would recommend others call as well – 213.254.4800.
Im calling tomorrow. I have never felt so taken advatage of
Did they ever call anyone back?
I would like to join the class action lawsuit against Ygrene. I had similar problems when I sold my house in Fort Lauderdale. They sales group told a totally different story than the financial group in California when it came time to sell the house. Add ons definitely increased the costs.
I live on Miami where Home Depot sold me the windows and doors with the YGRENE program.
Not only my property taxes double,I can’t sell the house because I am to be penalized a percentage by Y GRENE. IN addition they put the loan for 10 years instead of 20 years.
Misinformed through the entire process by HD sales force. If I would’ve known about this, I ll never purchased those windows with that program. Abusive, misledding customers, lying about free risk loan
We were forced to pay off our YGrene/Pace loan in September 2016 when we took out a second mtg on our home. Not only did we pay the 5% fee, but the it’s been six months and the lien still shows in county records. We have been attempting to get something in writing from them that our loan was paid in full. We are also now paying an inflated escrow due to the assessment still on our tax records. How can we join this suit.
I’d like to join too! What a scam!!! They got us. ?
How can someone join this class action or file a claim if they have a PACE loan with Ygrene?