| Cost of Eligible Products |
You can finance the cost of the Eligible Product, the associated installation costs, and energy and water audits (“Project Costs”).
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| Interest Rate |
You will be charged a fixed interest rate on your Project Costs. Your interest rate will be set at the time your Financing Documents are issued. Today's interest rates for HERO Financing are posted on twitter.com/HEROFinancing.
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| Interest Before First Payment |
Based on the date an assessment is recorded on your property, payments may not begin until the following year’s tax statement. This is the amount of interest that is added to the assessment amount for the period between your closing date and the date of your first assessment payment. The maximum amount of interest will be listed on your Assessment Cost and Payment Summary, which will be provided with your Financing Documents.
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| Administration Fee |
A one-time Administration Fee equal to 6.35% of your Total Financing Amount will be included in your Total Financing Amount to cover administration costs. For example, if your Total Financing Amount is $20,000, the Administration Fee will be $1,270.
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| Recording Fees |
You will need to pay recording fees of approximately $90 that Riverside County charges to record your assessment lien documents and related notices. Recording fees will be included in your Total Financing Amount.
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| Annual Assessment Administrative Fee |
Each year, an annual assessment administrative fee will be added to the assessment lien amount on your property tax bill. This fee covers the annual costs to place the lien on the property tax rolls and manage the tax payments. These costs will be $25 at the time the WRCOG HERO Program is launched, and will be adjusted in subsequent years for cost of living increases using the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the Southern California counties.
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| Financing Term Length |
Eligible Products can be financed for 5, 10, 15, or 20 years, depending on the useful life of the Eligible Product. If you install multiple Eligible Products, each product will have an individual term length associated with its useful life. The individual term lengths will then be aggregated to create a summary payment schedule.
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| Prepayments |
You have the option to pay off your assessment lien amount in full or in $5,000 increments at any time. However, if you do so, you will have to pay (i) the principal amount of the assessment to be prepaid (the “Assessment Prepayment Amount“), (ii) a prepayment premium computed as set forth below, (iii) interest on the Assessment Prepayment Amount to the earlier of March 2 or September 2 occurring at least 90 days following the date the prepayment is made, and (iv) a processing fee (not to exceed $500).
The prepayment premium is determined as follows:
| Year 1: |
5% of Prepaid Assessment Amount |
| Year 2: |
4% of Prepaid Assessment Amount |
| Year 3: |
3% of Prepaid Assessment Amount |
| Year 4: |
3% of Prepaid Assessment Amount |
| Year 5: |
3% of Prepaid Assessment Amount |
| Years 6-20: |
No Penalty. |
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| Minimum Financing Amount |
The minimum assessment lien amount is $5,000.
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| Maximum Financing Amount |
The maximum assessment lien amount is 10% of the value of your property. WRCOG Executive Committee approval is required for any Project Costs over $200,000.
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| Transferability of Assessment |
Property taxes typically stay with the property when it is sold and the same is true with assessments. Under the WRCOG HERO Program, when you sell or refinance your property, WRCOG and the County will permit your assessment to stay with the property; however, your lender or the buyer’s lender may require that you pay off the remaining outstanding balance of your WRCOG HERO Assessment. Accordingly, depending upon the requirements of the lenders, you may be able to transfer the remaining balance to the new owner (or in the case of a refinancing allow it to remain with the property), or you may need to pay the unpaid balance at the time of transfer or refinance.
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| Repayment of Assessment |
Payment of your assessment will be billed and paid through a separate line item on your property tax bill. As with other property taxes, the assessment is due in one or two installments each year.
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