[robojester]

So I am sure folks here can enlighten me .

What do you think about buying a house with an existing solar system?

In your eyes what are the mitigating factors?


Thnaks!

[Packrat1]

The biggest factor I see is assuming the prior owners lease if there is one. I have read several articles about assuming Solar City leases and problems people had. The new owner must qualify credit wise above and beyond the home loan. I would worry about warranty service being honored too.

[OmegaSupreme]

Eligibility for old net metering rates?

https://www.nvenergy.com/renewablese...e-20170727.cfm

[Danknee]

Those Solar City contracts are no joke, avoid assuming one like the plague. Huge financial liability to the home owner and also a big encumbrance when you want to sell. Additionally the pricing, even if you get grandfathered into having non-solar costumers subsidize your rate, is mediocre. You can still do better just signing up for time of use and avoiding Solar City completely.

Another Solar City negative is that those 20 year leases net you zero equity. The fixed rate, which costs more annually than TofU, is supposed to be the benefit. After 20 years they either pull the equipment off your house, or you sign another lease.

If the home has solar that the homeowner paid for free and clear then it is just a nice bonus to a buyer. Appraisal will not give them the full amount they paid back, basically the same way a pool depreciates immediately. A nice buyer position to be in if this is the situation. Make sure you make your offer contingent upon appraisal.

[Danknee]

Another offer to consider making if you like a house that has a Solar lien or contract tied to it: have the appraisal include the value of the solar equipment as if it is owned. Stipulate that in the closing the seller buys out the solar contract so the equipment becomes owned. Again these contracts are written to only benefit the solar company that is leasing them so the buyout cost probably exceeds the value of the equipment. At least this type of offer puts the seller in the hard place and not the buyer.

[Cold Warrior]

You might want to have a roof inspection.

[SoHoVe]

All that Danknee wrote.

Having to assume a solar lease would be an absolute deal breaker for me, it would make no sense considering my energy requirements which are far below average.

In my case I wouldn't even bother with viewing any such properties.

[Danknee]

Originally Posted by SoHoVe

All that Danknee wrote.

Having to assume a solar lease would be an absolute deal breaker for me, it would make no sense considering my energy requirements which are far below average.

In my case I wouldn't even bother with viewing any such properties.

Nah. I'd totally make the offer I suggested above to clear the equipment out of the contract in closing. I would love to have solar, but I wouldn't bare the negative financial consequences of another person's solar contract.

Pay them for the appraised value of the house with the equipment, for the house and the equipment in the clear. This negates any 3rd party company's profits and terms from the purchase.

[airics]

Originally Posted by Danknee

Those Solar City contracts are no joke, avoid assuming one like the plague. Huge financial liability to the home owner and also a big encumbrance when you want to sell. Additionally the pricing, even if you get grandfathered into having non-solar costumers subsidize your rate, is mediocre. You can still do better just signing up for time of use and avoiding Solar City completely.

Another Solar City negative is that those 20 year leases net you zero equity. The fixed rate, which costs more annually than TofU, is supposed to be the benefit. After 20 years they either pull the equipment off your house, or you sign another lease.

If the home has solar that the homeowner paid for free and clear then it is just a nice bonus to a buyer. Appraisal will not give them the full amount they paid back, basically the same way a pool depreciates immediately. A nice buyer position to be in if this is the situation. Make sure you make your offer contingent upon appraisal.

i'm going to disagree on even the free and solar. if they break then what.. for the cost of the solar, the owner should have put in a pool. there is a house with a small set of solar panels for sale on my street.. hasn't sold in several months.. the other homes only take a week or two.

[SoHoVe]

I'm quite curious what percentage of the total cost solar is returning on resales.

I'm going to guess the return would be better on higher end homes???

28k isn't an insignificant amount of money for many people purchasing at the lower end of the market. And people ARE putting solar on some of those homes. I'm not sure how many people would rather pay for solar at the expense of buying into a nicer neighborhood. I'm genuinely curious and I'm not someone who is willing to pay a huge premium to live in a certain zip.