Top Mexican Lender Offers Credit for Greener Houses
 Noel Randewich - Reuters
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Mexico City - Mexico's top mortgage lender is offering clients extra credit if they agree to buy homes kitted out with solar water heaters, energy-efficient light bulbs and other measures to save gas, electricity and water.
In a new program to make Mexican homes more environmentally friendly, Infonavit, a government-run lender funded by employer contributions, will lend homebuyers up to $1,500 above what they would normally qualify for, said Infonavit head Victor Borras.
Mexico's construction firms have agreed to equip some of the houses they build with the sun-powered water heaters, efficient faucets, insulation and other environmentally efficient fixtures at cost, Borras said at an event to launch the program.
President Felipe Calderon wants 4 million homes built and sold by the time his term ends in 2012 to help close Mexico's housing deficit. Infonavit's goal is to include 20 percent of those houses in the environmental program, Borras said.
"We have to question how to deal with this housing expansion, which needs services and infrastructure, and how to do it so that this credit landslide doesn't hurt future generations," Borras said.
Infonavit accounts for two thirds of mortgage lending in Mexico, with its clients typically buying homes for around $30,000.
Homebuyers who opt to take on the extra $1,500 in debt stand to save $7,000 in water, gas and electricity bills during the 22 years it typically takes to pay off their mortgage, Infonavit reckons.
(Editing by Diane Craft) |
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