Check it out — get cash when you update your bungalow

Let’s see. “Updating” means completely gutting the upstairs, so it now includes three bedrooms, a small living room and a full bath. “Updating” means redoing the electrical and plumbing,  adding insulation as well as tuck-pointing the brick exterior, and landscaping the yard.

Are they done “updating” yet? Nope.

“Updates” next on their list include the garage, which needs to be stabilized and re-sided; remodeling the first floor bath and kitchen; and then stripping more of the painted woodwork in their spare time.

The Lentners have lived in their bungalow for only one year, and in that short time, they’ve updated a lot.

Their actions are in character with their values.

Abe, 30, is an urban planner at the City Design Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Abby, 28,  is a financial aid counselor at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. They knew they wanted a home with history and value.

They knew they wanted a bungalow, and wanted it certified by the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association. And they knew they wanted to get a home mortgage through Shorebank. Abe had already worked with the bank on community development projects.

The Lentners had certified the bungalow before the closing date on the home purchase. That qualified them for a $500 voucher from the bungalow association that could be used as cash to purchase an Energy Star-rated refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, oven, washer/dryer or air conditioner window unit. The Lentners chose to buy a new refrigerator with their premium.

Certification also started them on the road to qualifying for the Energy Saver 1 and 2 matching grants, up to a total of $3,000, for work on windows, doors, storms, insulation and low-flow plumbing fixtures, as well as heating and cooling systems that include solar panels and geothermal.

All three of those grants are availble without regard to family income.

What did ShoreBank bring to the table?

The bank’s Homeowners' Energy Conservation Program rolled the cost of their planned home improvements and the purchase price into one monthly payment. Also included in ShoreBank's package of bungalow incentives are the services of certified home energy rater Jim Cavallo, who closely inspected the bungalow to pinpoint ways the family could save energy. ShoreBank tops off its gifts to hsitoric bunaglow owners by providing a $500 credit toward an Energy Star-rated appliance.

This premium, however, applies when the entire rehab project amounts to $5,000, of which $2,000 must have been spent on energy efficiency. 

ShoreBank's program is open to new owners, current owners who want to refinance, and developers, without regard to family income.

The mortgage loan can be applied toward the rehab of a single-family home — like a bungalow — as well as any four-unit home built in any architectural style anywhere in Chicago.

“Energy audits define energy measures that are cost-effective and improve comfort,” Cavallo said. “I look at the heating system, insulation in the attic, and check for gaps in wall insulation with an infrared camera. With a blower door test and an infrared camera, I can find anywhere warm air is escaping the house.”

Added Maria Travis, program administration manager in ShoreBank's mortgage lending group, “[ShoreBank] considers this an educational program: ‘Do I need windows? What kind do I need?’ Homeowners need advice on the type of insulation or furnace they should buy.”

For the Lentners’ home, Cavallo suggested insulating the attic rafters with batts and rigid insulation to get the most energy savings  at the least cost, while using the least amount of interior space.

Cavallo also suggested that the Lentners make electrical updates, add a low-flow water faucet to the kitchen sink, replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, throw out an old freezer that was chugging away in the basement, and consider replacing the windows.

“We decided to keep and restore the original bungalow windows and storms,” Abby said.

Abe added, “Jim's report had a budget estimate of what each project in the rehab would cost us and where our best energy savings were. And then you pick and choose. We just had to show ShoreBank that we completed $2,000 of the work to get the refrigerator.”