Home Repair and Maintenance

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has finalized a rule to provide stronger protections for homeowners who take out Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans.

These loans, used for clean energy upgrades and disaster preparedness, are paid back through property tax bills. Due to concerns about homeowners being misled or taking on unaffordable loans, Congress required the CFPB to improve protections.

The new rule ensures that PACE borrowers receive the same standard mortgage disclosures as those applying for traditional mortgages. This will help homeowners compare PACE loans to other financing options and prevent them from being pushed into loans they cannot afford.

“Today’s rule stops unscrupulous companies and salespeople from luring homeowners into unaffordable loans based on false promises of energy savings,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Homeowners deserve to know just how much they are paying when they put their home and financial future on the line.”

Most PACE loans are sold through door-to-door sales and often promise energy savings or disaster preparedness benefits. However, research shows PACE loans can lead to higher property taxes, higher interest rates, and an increased risk of falling behind on other mortgage payments. PACE loans tend to be more expensive than regular mortgages, with rates about five percentage points higher.

The CFPB has been closely monitoring the market and recently issued warnings about predatory solar loans. The new rule, effective March 1, 2026, aims to protect consumers from deceptive practices and ensure they have the information they need to make informed decisions.

Read CFPB's tips about PACE loans. 

An indicator developed by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies suggests a slowdown in home remodeling activity will occur in 2024. The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) projects annual owner expenditures for home updates and maintenance to decline by 7.7 percent through the third quarter of 2024.

There are a number of reasons for the projected slowdown in remodeling activity. There is ongoing weakness in the overall housing market caused by higher interest rates. Uncertainty over the health of the economy and job market may also be an influence.

But this could be good news for homeowners who plan to remodel a kitchen or bathroom this year or undertake any home improvement project using a contractor. It’s the basic economic law of supply and demand – if contractors have fewer jobs they may offer more competitive bids to get your business.

Hiring a remodeling contractor is serious business. Not only is it likely to be costly, you and your family will be living with the contractor and crew while the work is being done.

Finding a contractor

Here are some ways to find a contractor:

• Ask family and friends

• Check with the National Association of the Remodeling Industry

• Read reviews on ConsumerAffairs

There are also some important questions you should ask:

• Are you licensed and certified?

• Will you pull all required permits?

• Are you fully insured?

• Will there be a dedicated team of workers or will you rotate subcontractors?

Finally, ask how many similar projects the contractor has carried out. If the contractor does mostly exterior work, the company might not be a good fit to remodel a bathroom. It’s also a good idea to ask for references.

The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies has concluded that 2024 is shaping up to be a challenging year for the home remodeling industry. That could work to consumers’ advantage.

There was a surge in home improvements during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic because millions of Americans were trapped at home with little to do. But many of those improvements were cosmetic, such as updated kitchens or bathrooms.

Today, many important home improvements and repairs are not being done. A survey by finance company Figure found that more than six in 10 new homeowners are delaying needed repairs to their homes because of a lack of money.

Some of these needed repairs are important structurally and should not be postponed, experts say. A roof leak, for example, will only get worse over time. Damaged or ineffective gutters will cause water to collect around the foundation and cause expensive damage.

Bill Dallas, president of Finance of America Mortgage, says he believes the home improvement trend will continue because the nation’s housing stock is getting old, homes are continuing to rise in value, and interest rates are still relatively low.

“That said, many of those who seek out funding for home improvement projects are working to address major issues that need to be addressed in their homes,” Dallas told ConsumerAffairs. “In this case, I’m referring to critical projects that may require immediate attention, either from a safety, code compliance, or basic functionality perspective.”

These projects include things like changing out a broken HVAC system, replacing the roof, or upgrading outdated plumbing and electrical systems. These projects have two things in common: they are vital to the structural integrity of a home, and they are expensive.

Using equity to pay for repairs

Fifty-seven percent of the homeowners who were surveyed indicated that they would use savings to pay for any repair projects. Dallas says another option is to tap the equity of the home.

“In my opinion, given the record $9.4 trillion in tappable equity, many homeowners could benefit from a cash-out refinance or a HELOC (home equity line of credit) to access funds that can be put toward home improvements if they don’t have the savings or the cash on hand,” Dallas said.

According to Bankrate, home improvements are the single best use of a home equity loan. That’s because the additional debt is being used to add value to the home or to prevent a loss of value. 

Under recent tax law changes, the interest deduction on HELOC loans has been limited to expenses to improve the home that secures the loan. Using the loan to buy a boat doesn’t provide a tax break, but replacing a roof does.

ConsumerAffairs has gathered useful information on HELOC loans here.