What is a green mortgage and how to get one

In general, the benefits of purchasing an environmentally sustainable home are well known: saving money and energy, less environmental impact, etc. What not everyone knows, however, is that there are several banks that will lower the interest rate if you finance the purchase with a green mortgage. The bank comparator HelpMyCash explains what exactly this product consists ofThe following are some of the entities that offer it and what you have to do to get it.

For the purchase and renovation of sustainable housing

A green mortgage or eco is basically a loan that allows financing the purchase or renovation of sustainable housing with more favourable conditions. As a general rule, the interest rate is lower than that charged by the bank for conventional real estate purchases, although in some cases other advantages are also offered (e.g. higher financing).

At present, however, few banks are marketing a green mortgage cheaper than conventional mortgage. According to HelpMyCash, the only ones that do it openly are Hipotecas.com, Banco Santander, Cajamar, Triodos Bank and Banco Mediolanum. In any case, they remind us that it is possible to negotiate with any entity to try to get these improved conditions.

The energy rating certificate must be presented

Of course, it is not enough for the bank granting the green mortgage that we tell them that we will buy a green home: we have to prove it to them. To do this, it will be necessary to present the energy rating certificate of the building.which should be A+, A or B depending on the requirements of the institution.

Also, the usual solvency requirements must be metOtherwise, the bank will not approve the transaction. In particular, you must have sufficient savings (usually 30% of the value of the house), a good salary, stable employment and a clean credit history.

They are not always better than conventional ones

The comparator HelpMyCash warns, however, that green mortgages do not always have better conditions than conventional ones. Despite their lower interest rates, there are banks that market loans at even more attractive rates for the purchase of non-green homesat least on paper.

Therefore, the ideal is to approaching various entitiesBoth those that provide green mortgages and those that do not, and ask about their financing conditions. This makes it much easier to compare the different offers and choose the one that is the best value for money. In doing so, however, it is important to look not only at the interest rate, but also at other important aspects such as the products to get the maximum bonus or the fees.