• Does not have to be repaid unless the home is sold within three years.
• Applies only to first-time homebuyers, defined as those who have not owned a home within the previous three tax years.
• Available only for homes purchased between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 1, 2009.
• Restricted by income; phases out for individuals with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or above and for married couples with a combined adjusted gross income of $150,000 or above.
• Tax credit is for up to 10 percent of the purchase price, up to a maximum of $8,000. For example, a buyer of a $150,000 home could receive a tax credit of a maximum of $8,000, while a first-time buyer of a $70,000 home would be eligible for a tax credit of $7,000.
• The credit can be taken on 2008 taxes even when the purchase is made in 2009.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued guidance that opens the door for FHA-approved lenders to provide short-term loans — with restrictions — to borrowers who are eligible for the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit.

Truth is there really isn't any incentive for a bank or lender to offer you anything for having a more "green friendly" home. Banks care about one thing and one thing only, the bottom line. They lend you money regardless of what it is secured against or what the colateral is and you pay them monthly payments with a margin of profit on top called interest. So how you build a home means nothing to them.

Where your benefit comes from is the tax incentives offered by the government. Either local, state or Federal. If your government wants you to be more environmentally aware then they many times offer you tax benefits for improving the construction and energy efficiency of your home. SO, you are better served contacting a CPA or a government office, FHA, VA etc and asking what kind of tax benefits there are for you building or improving your home to be more earth friendly.

There is one lending benefit to green building and that is what is called the Energy Efficient Mortgage or EEM. An EEM captures the savings the homeowner will receive from energy-efficient improvements over the life of the improvement and treats that savings as income. With more income, the borrower can qualify for a larger loan that covers a purchase or refinance as well as the cost of energy-efficient improvements.

Fannie Mae has introduced "Desktop Underwriter (DU) Refi Plus™", a new program designed to reignite the mortgage industry by streamlining the refinance process for potentially millions of Americans. Fannie Mae has loosened the rules for homeowners seeking lower monthly payments.

By Brian Louis - Bloomberg (04/20/2009)

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. mortgagerates may fall to the lowest since World War II on the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy up to $300 billion of Treasuries and increase purchases of mortgage-backed bonds.

Rates for 30-year fixed home loans dropped to 4.98 percent this week,Freddie Mac said today. They may reach 4.5 percent as the Fed’s purchases progress, said Mike Larson, real estate analyst at Weiss Research in Jupiter, Florida.