Would you buy a house with a solar lease?

[Anonymous]

We have solar panels that we own and the lower electricity bills are wonderful! Well worth the investment. However, I have heard that the problem with leasing panels is that the new owner may not want to take over the lease and then you're on the hook to pay to have them removed. So, that's something to consider if you plan on selling this house in the near future. The SREC money is nice and you'll miss that but the real question in my mind is whether it will be a problem to sell this house again. As you can see, it is a problem for the current owners because you're not sure about buying the house. Are you ready to be in their position?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, let them pay it off before the sale.

OP here. It can’t be paid off/revoked.

to clarify, they don’t pay for the lease - the solar company gets the roof and they get free electricity.

This is in DC.

Do you have a copy of the lease? How long is it for? I'd be surprised if it was longer than 15 years, maybe 20.

20 years and they are two years in. It’s with Solar Solutions which seems to be very reputable.

We have panels we own on our DC house, I know a bit about the business. Personally I would have no issues with it- but electricity savings of $2k/year seems pretty high, would need to be much bigger array than you see on a standard DC rowhouse. You might save $750/year with say a 20 panel array.

Do they have docs to substantiate the electricity costs/savings?

It’s a house, 38 panels, and yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have solar panels that we own and the lower electricity bills are wonderful! Well worth the investment. However, I have heard that the problem with leasing panels is that the new owner may not want to take over the lease and then you're on the hook to pay to have them removed. So, that's something to consider if you plan on selling this house in the near future. The SREC money is nice and you'll miss that but the real question in my mind is whether it will be a problem to sell this house again. As you can see, it is a problem for the current owners because you're not sure about buying the house. Are you ready to be in their position?

Me again. You could also call Solar United Neighbors for advice. They'll talk to you for free: https://solarunitedneighbors.org/help-desk/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, let them pay it off before the sale.

OP here. It can’t be paid off/revoked.

to clarify, they don’t pay for the lease - the solar company gets the roof and they get free electricity.

This is in DC.

Do you have a copy of the lease? How long is it for? I'd be surprised if it was longer than 15 years, maybe 20.

20 years and they are two years in. It’s with Solar Solutions which seems to be very reputable.

We have panels we own on our DC house, I know a bit about the business. Personally I would have no issues with it- but electricity savings of $2k/year seems pretty high, would need to be much bigger array than you see on a standard DC rowhouse. You might save $750/year with say a 20 panel array.

Do they have docs to substantiate the electricity costs/savings?

It’s a house, 38 panels, and yes.

Nice- yeah I could see getting to $2k savings with 38 panels. Sounds like a nice benefit, I'd be happy to go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the issue for those who say no?

Solar is hideous. I’d never buy a house with solar.

[Anonymous]

No. I would not.

1) They make noise. Or rather, the accompanying equipment does. A slight buzzing/fan noise I find irritating.

2) They are ugly.

3) It's questionable whether rooftop solar panels are actually good for the environment overall.

4) What happens when you want to fix the roof?

5) I know someone whose solar panels set on fire.

6) Resale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the issue for those who say no?

Solar is hideous. I’d never buy a house with solar.

Even if it generated $2k/year in electricity savings? And if you owned them, probably $6k/year in SRECs (in DC)? I'll take $8k/year for something that is "hideous"!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I would not.

1) They make noise. Or rather, the accompanying equipment does. A slight buzzing/fan noise I find irritating. We have solar- that sound on the inverter is only audible if outside within maybe 20 feet

2) They are ugly. Sure? On many houses you can barely see them, or they lay flat on a pitched roof?

3) It's questionable whether rooftop solar panels are actually good for the environment overall.Example of this analysis? I will say I could see the materials usage/energy to produce not being especially efficient for smaller arrays

4) What happens when you want to fix the roof?You get the installer to take the panels off and put them back on later. It's maybe $1k? Not bad for something you probably do once in 15 years, and may be aligned to replacing the panels anyway

5) I know someone whose solar panels set on fire. Um, okay, that is not really a substantive risk? Have never heard of that happening other than your anonymous example

6) Resale. Our owned panels raised our refinance appraisal by $10k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I would not.

1) They make noise. Or rather, the accompanying equipment does. A slight buzzing/fan noise I find irritating. We have solar- that sound on the inverter is only audible if outside within maybe 20 feet

2) They are ugly. Sure? On many houses you can barely see them, or they lay flat on a pitched roof?

3) It's questionable whether rooftop solar panels are actually good for the environment overall.Example of this analysis? I will say I could see the materials usage/energy to produce not being especially efficient for smaller arrays

4) What happens when you want to fix the roof?You get the installer to take the panels off and put them back on later. It's maybe $1k? Not bad for something you probably do once in 15 years, and may be aligned to replacing the panels anyway

5) I know someone whose solar panels set on fire. Um, okay, that is not really a substantive risk? Have never heard of that happening other than your anonymous example

6) Resale. Our owned panels raised our refinance appraisal by $10k

Um, within twenty feet outside is most of my backyard. I don't want to hear that. And I have heard that noise inside as well when in these houses - some people have better hearing than others and I am one of those people, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, let them pay it off before the sale.

OP here. It can’t be paid off/revoked.

to clarify, they don’t pay for the lease - the solar company gets the roof and they get free electricity.

This is in DC.

Do you have a copy of the lease? How long is it for? I'd be surprised if it was longer than 15 years, maybe 20.

20 years and they are two years in. It’s with Solar Solutions which seems to be very reputable.

We have panels we own on our DC house, I know a bit about the business. Personally I would have no issues with it- but electricity savings of $2k/year seems pretty high, would need to be much bigger array than you see on a standard DC rowhouse. You might save $750/year with say a 20 panel array.

Do they have docs to substantiate the electricity costs/savings?

It’s a house, 38 panels, and yes.

Nice- yeah I could see getting to $2k savings with 38 panels. Sounds like a nice benefit, I'd be happy to go for it.

I save $1600/year with 18 panels. No tree cover at all and all South facing. $2k in savings seems low for 38 panels, though if we had decided to put 18 panels on the North-facing side they would have been like 65% less efficient than the ones we installed which is why we opted for only the south facing panels. It is an 8 MW system (and we own them and keep the SREC credits).

They are also on the back of the house and barely anyone notices unless you tell someone to look for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I would not.

1) They make noise. Or rather, the accompanying equipment does. A slight buzzing/fan noise I find irritating. We have solar- that sound on the inverter is only audible if outside within maybe 20 feet

2) They are ugly. Sure? On many houses you can barely see them, or they lay flat on a pitched roof?

3) It's questionable whether rooftop solar panels are actually good for the environment overall.Example of this analysis? I will say I could see the materials usage/energy to produce not being especially efficient for smaller arrays

4) What happens when you want to fix the roof?You get the installer to take the panels off and put them back on later. It's maybe $1k? Not bad for something you probably do once in 15 years, and may be aligned to replacing the panels anyway

5) I know someone whose solar panels set on fire. Um, okay, that is not really a substantive risk? Have never heard of that happening other than your anonymous example

6) Resale. Our owned panels raised our refinance appraisal by $10k

Um, within twenty feet outside is most of my backyard. I don't want to hear that. And I have heard that noise inside as well when in these houses - some people have better hearing than others and I am one of those people, unfortunately.

Both we and our neighbors have solar panels and we don't hear anything. I mean absolutely nothing.

[Anonymous]

I’d pass on a house with solar panels.

[Anonymous]

We have panels too and we hear absolutely nothing either. We have them on our row house and on the garage. I can't remember how many. We own the panels and now the monthly SREC is paying for our new EV.

[Anonymous]

I would pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the issue for those who say no?

Solar is hideous. I’d never buy a house with solar.

Even if it generated $2k/year in electricity savings? And if you owned them, probably $6k/year in SRECs (in DC)? I'll take $8k/year for something that is "hideous"!

Yes, they are ugly. I don't like the way they look. I do not care about $2k a year in savings. It would detract way more from the value of my home.