Project Home: Response from California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation provided the below response to statements made by Ygrene.

"PACE Program Administrators upload their data nightly to us but we are seeing some delays in the data populating on our website. It may be due in part to recent security upgrades that we made or user error. We can confirm that YGrene has attempted to register AAA Remodeling and Development. Because the data didn't meet the reporting requirement protocol [could be due to spacing or input issues], it was rejected. They should have received an email letting them know that it was rejected.

We are currently working with IT to understand if it's a system error on our part so we can resolve it. That said, we cannot confirm that YGrene tried to enroll Brent George since that didn't populate as a rejected entry. They may have tried to enroll him, but we can't confirm that. We appreciate that this inquiry has brought some of these technical issues to our attention and are working to resolve them on behalf of licensees and consumers alike.

One thing that does concern us is the fact that the family was told by a contractor that they qualified for a $35,000 PACE loan. That is information that neither contractors nor solicitors should be privy to since it makes it more likely that they would offer improvements that match the qualification amount rather than truly prioritizing the independent cost of the efficiency upgrades. We encourage California consumers to call us or file a complaint online in these instances."

For more information on the Streets and Housing Code that prevents PAs from sharing details about the amount of funds for which the property owner is available, you can check the text online here.

Here's the language: "A program administrator shall not provide to a contractor or third party engaged in soliciting assessment contracts on its behalf any information that discloses the amount of funds for which a property owner is eligible under a PACE assessment or the amount of equity in a property."