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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
When I was offered by ARS A/C Company (Orlando Florida) the Y-Grene/Pace program to install the A/C unit in my home, neither ARS A/C Company (Orlando Florida) Or Y-Grene/Pace program informed me that my home would have a lien on it, nor was I told that the payments would be added on to property taxes. I have names and numbers of the people in spoke with during the horrible experience. I thought I was getting some legitimate help and service, But later found out that it is now a scam. And the fact of barely making it on my income, it was heart breaking finding out about the PROGRAM.
I was never told I had to repay the loan in full upon selling my house. The windows and doors came with the house so the new owners will continue the payments.
I need the ygrene class action info. Ygrene has predatory lending practices & I told them that & I did NOT want their money & they STILL tried to contact my mortgage company & my county tax office here in FL to attach their “loan’ which again I refused to my motgage & taxes. And I took NO MONEY from them.
My mom and I live in Miami, Fl. Ygrene and Pace, had people walking the neighborhoods here, signing people up for (Hurricane IMPACT) Windows and Doors. They claimed that the glass is not supposed to break in a hurricane. Well …….. The yard man was cutting the grass and a rock hit the glass and now there is a crack in it. Now how safe do you think we feel if a storm does hit, if a little rock has already cracked the glass? Who do we even call to fix that if Ygrene isn’t answering when you call them? On top of that, Our mortgage just went up and the taxes are sky high because of Ygrene. We got the service the end of last 2021 and they didn’t come install the doors and windows until mid 2022. It’s starting to feel as if people are finding fraudulent ways to take people homes. We work hard to obtain and keep our homes. I grew up in mine and i am 50 now. Who do we speak with to be apart of this lawsuit?
I was also told the loan would stay with the home if I sold the home. Also since we went with the mortgaqe payment forbearance during COVID… the extra taxes that didn’t get paid + YGRENE’s extra tax payment has increased our mortgage payment up $2000 per month. Which makes our $4000 mortgage payment $6000 per month. Now we were considering selling because the payment is too high but there’s plenty of equity. I had no idea there’s a prepayment penalty on the YGRENE loan. Plus we were told it would be transferred to the next homeowner. We were never told it would have to be paid off if we decided to sell our property. Can you please add me to the lawsuit?
Good afternoon!
How can I complete the steps that need to be done to be part of the Ygrene lawsuit, if I did not receive any correspondence by mail, I have 3 projects funded with Ygrene even though I already paid $6,000 in advance for each one. I too was a victim of miscommunication.
I have a lot of cloth to cut regarding the Ygrene issue, they fraudulently deceived me and many more things that I cannot disclose here, I would like more information about the class action lawsuit since I never received the correspondence until months ago. Thanks
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I did my windows with Ygrene. I Hope they don’t ask for a lump sum instead of $200 extra monthly beginning in November this year.
First time homebuyer desperately needed a new A/C due to vents never being changed since the house was 1st built .I also have children that have really bad allergies. We were not made aware of the entire cost of the project and now
The same thing happened to us the after the roof was done they raised up the price because of some extra boards that wasn’t in the contract . Where can I add myself into this lawsuit. I was not told nothing about a lean on the house . If that was the case I wouldn’t have gone through with this . I too received the survey . And I filled it out . But this survey the question has nothing to do with anything . Just some random off questions .
The same thing happened to us the after the roof was done they raised up the price because of some extra boards that wasn’t in the contract . Where can I add myself into this lawsuit. I was not told nothing about a lean on the house . If that was the case I wouldn’t have gone through with this . I too received the survey . And I filled it out . But this survey the question has nothing to do with anything . Just some random off questions .
Did you get the information on the attorneys dealing with ygrene ?
Ygrene is a complete fraud. They were soliciting in my community and told me of a supposedly great deal for hurricane impact windows. My home is a 2-story, and I cannot climb a latter to put shutters on the 2nd floor during hurricane. So, I thought it was a good idea when they told me the price to install hurricane impact windows which were supposedly on special. I was told that I will pay $175 per month for 5yrs only. I agreed to the term to pay $175 monthly for 5yrs only. I requested a copy of the papers that I signed and was told that it will be send via email because everything was electronic. I asked to take a photo with my phone to what I signed, and the lady did not allow it. She told assured me that she will email me the forms. For my surprise it showed for 30yrs, and it was $41,000 which I was total shock. The email came from a Kevin Lara which I have no idea who that person is. Furthermore, I was told if I ever sale my home the loan is transfer automatically to the buyer which it was false information. I was NEVER told that all Ygrene loan is connected to my tax county. My taxes went sky high along with my mortgage. I am drowning in payments. I tried calling Ygrene to have it as what I agreed to pay on a monthly basis and was told that I have to come up front first with $2,500 and maybe that can be arranged. I tried to sale my home because all the financial struggles and couldn’t until I pay off completely Ygrene loan. No buyer was willing to take the loan. It gets worst. During hurricane season, one of the windows where not install properly so there was extreme rain pouring through that window for days. I tried contacting Ygrene which it was a waste of time. They told me to contact the company who installed the windows. The worst thing is that Ygrene never gave me the information until 3 days later. My home was a mess, and I was stressed, lack of sleep and extreme worried. I went to a severe depression and cried daily. I had to shut down the electricity and put plastic in the window because the water was pouring down through one of the outlets located underneath the window that was not installed properly. Someone finally showed up around 9pm after unsuccessful days of crying and calling Ygrene nonstop without success. The man who came home had an extreme bad attitude and just patched the window (wish you can all see it – SMH). So, now I still have a horrendous window that was not installed properly, big loan ruining my life and I cannot sale my home. I am struggling financially and want to sale my home. How can I join this act? I already received a letter and sign the survey online but yet have not receive any call or any other info.