What You Need to Know About Solar

Harness the power of the sun to offset your electrical bills?! Ummm, sign me up!!! You’ll want to keep in mind a few things as both a home buyer and a home seller.

More than ever, the want to help curb global warming through renewable energy is very appealing. The installation of a solar system is a great way to help offset your carbon footprint. The first thing to remember is to work with a local, reputable company. There are a handful of options to pick from, both small and large! If I had to give one great recommendation, it would be Namaste Solar, hands down!!

The second and most important aspect of solar is how do you plan to pay for the system? Do you pay it all upfront? Or maybe make a monthly payment over a handful of years? Either way, you’ll want to understand both options fully. If you pay in full, and eventually you plan to sell your home, there will be no transfer of payment for the panels. It’s the cleanest and easiest way to resale.

On the other hand, if you plan to do a payment plan, you’ll want to consider how long that payment plan is and what the transferring process entails. For example, if you plan to live in your home for the next 20+ years, a longer-term monthly payment will likely not affect a potential sale, with the theory that a majority of the balance will have already been paid off.

If you plan to only be in your home for the next 5-7 years (or less), you’ll want to dive into the process of transferring the solar payments to a future buyer.

Transferring the solar loan is where things can get a little tricky. When a buyer purchases a home, the additional solar panel payment could disqualify that buyer if their debt-to-income ratios are close. Can they qualify for both the home and the panels in layman’s terms? In my experience, this is one of the most challenging parts of solar transfers.

While most buyers are super excited about solar, you need to make sure that the monthly payments make sense! And that the buyer can afford to take on both the mortgage and the monthly panel cost.

The moral of the story, do your research, and chat with your fav Realtor to get their opinion on how the buyer pool will react and what it does for your home value and resale! Solar is rad, but it also needs to make sense for your particular living situation!