PACE Financing: A Legal Guide to Energy and Water Efficiency Funding

This program will cover property-assessed clean energy (PACE). Attorneys will learn about PACE financing and understand some of its nuances. Attorneys will be able to navigate the application and underwriting process. Should a property owner default? Questions like this will be considered. Attorneys must know what to expect during any enforcement proceeding.

Attendees will learn about the differences between PACE financing and traditional construction or mezzanine financing. Attorneys will understand the implications of the assessment running with the land and not being a personal debt obligation. This course will cover essential qualification factors when advising property owners or lenders. Although default is rare, attorneys will learn about the enforcement process that leads to a foreclosure and auction of the real estate.

This course is designed for counsel representing commercial, industrial, or nonprofit property owners looking for ways to implement energy and water efficiency improvements or onsite generation that do not want to use their equity for such improvements. Counsel representing banks, credit unions, and specialty lenders looking for a secure market to invest in or loan to are also encouraged to attend. However, this course can be attended by any attorney interested in what PACE programs entail and what is involved in the process of PACE contracts.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain an understanding of what property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing is, not by dispelling rumors and myths and comparing it to more traditional construction or mezzanine financing options
• Differentiate between various state PACE programs and residential and commercial PACE programs
• Explore the underwriting process so counsel may guide clients through the application and underwriting processes and the collection of required documentation
• Review and understand the more basic contractual provisions for this three-party transaction
• Assess what an enforcement action may look like and the recommended resolution methods