10 Things To Know When Selling Your Solar-Powered Home

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Christina Mathieson, LEED GA, GREEN, PSA, ABR

1. The single most important thing to do is to find a Realtor who has the Leap EDU “Solar Specialist” Designation and a wealth of experience with dealing with high-performing homes. This designation is the only one of it’s kind in the United States. The overwhelming majority of real estate agents have minimal understanding and knowledge, if any, of how to demonstrate value for your property, represent it correctly and market it to get you the maximum value.
2. It’s quite possible that your home may have a UCC-1 filing attached to it that will appear on the title of the property. This must be properly dealt with in order for your home to sell.
3. Transferring a leased solar contract or power purchase agreement may not be as simple as making a telephone call.
4. Solar contracts may affect the debt-to-income ratio of potential buyers if the sale is not structured properly.
5. Effective and Information-based marketing of your solar-powered home is of the utmost importance.
6. Buyers should have a third-party report (Let’s name it!) that your Solar Specialist Realtor can provide demonstrating the value of the energy your solar system produces, whether it’s owned by the seller or a third party.
7. You’ll need copies of the solar contract you signed and any subsequent modifications to that contract for your real estate agent as well as potential buyers.
8. If your solar is owned outright or if you’re financing to own, your solar can add to the appraised value of your home.
9. You may be unreasonably asked to pay off the full twenty-year contract out of the proceeds of the sale of your home by uninformed buyers or their representatives.
10. Many unsuspecting sellers of solar-powered homes assume their real estate agent has all of this under control and are surprised to leave $30,000+ in escrow at the closing table.