Complete Guide

Florida PACE & Ygrene Loans: The Complete Guide

PACE financing isn't a normal loan — it's a lien on your home repaid through your property tax bill, and in Florida it was sold door-to-door by Ygrene and others to thousands of homeowners who never understood what they signed. This is the complete guide. (General information, not legal advice.)

PACE stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy. It sounds like a loan, and it spends like a loan. But legally, it is not a normal loan at all. There is no bank statement and no monthly coupon book. Instead, the money you borrowed for solar panels, a new roof, impact windows, or an AC unit is attached to your home as a special assessment on your property taxes.

Here is what that means in plain terms. Once a year, your PACE payment shows up as a line on your property tax bill.

Because PACE rides on your tax bill, it has powers a normal loan does not have.

What's on this page

Every section in this article, and what each one covers

1.How a PACE Loan Actually WorksFour paragraphs and two links to other guides, naming PACE.
2.The Florida PACE Providers — and Their Payoff DesksTwo paragraphs and a four-item list (Ygrene Energy Fund; Renew Financial (RenewPACE); ...), naming the Ygrene Energy Fund, the Florida PACE Funding Agency and FTC.
3.Why PACE Trapped So Many Florida HomeownersThree paragraphs and three links to other guides, naming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, PACE and CFPB.
4.The Enforcement History: This Is Not Just YouFour paragraphs, naming the Florida PACE Funding Agency, the Florida Supreme Court and FTC.
5.Exit Path 1: Pay It Off EarlyThree paragraphs and one link to other guides, naming Florida Statute 163.081, PACE and July 1, 2024.
6.Exit Path 2: Pay It Off When You SellThree paragraphs, naming PACE.
7.Exit Path 3: Refinance the PACE Debt Into Your MortgageThree paragraphs, naming PACE.
8.Exit Path 4: Challenge Whether the Deal Was Ever ValidThree paragraphs and one link to other guides, naming Florida Statute 163.086, Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and PACE.
9.Exit Path 5: Hardship Deferral of Your Tax BillThree paragraphs, naming Florida Statute 197.252 and PACE.
10.Whatever Happens, Do Not Stop Paying Your Property TaxesTwo paragraphs and a callout, naming PACE and FTC.
11.Other Florida Rules Homeowners Read AboutTwo paragraphs, a four-item list (FDUTPA; Small claims court handles disputes; ...) and two links to other guides, naming Small Claims Rule 7.010(b) and the FTC Holder Rule.
12.What To Do This WeekTwo paragraphs and an eight-item list (Find your latest tax bill; Identify your provider; ...), naming PTO and PACE.

Also on this page

three checklists (16 items in all)
9 links to other guides
one callout
an FAQ (2 questions)

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Frequently asked questions

Is PACE a loan?

Not in the usual sense. PACE is a special assessment attached to your property and repaid through your property taxes, which is why it spikes your tax bill and sits ahead of your mortgage.

Can I get out of a Ygrene or PACE loan in Florida?

An assessment can be paid off early, at a sale or in a refinance. Separately, Florida Statute 163.086 sets out three circumstances in which a PACE financing agreement may not be enforceable, turning on a timely cancellation, on who obtained the recorded agreement, and on how the funding was obtained. Whether any of that reaches one specific agreement, including an older one predating July 1, 2024, is for a Florida attorney to say. A PACE assessment is billed with your property taxes, so a missed installment is an unpaid property tax bill; whether to keep paying is a decision to make with a Florida attorney.

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