Some common questions we receive:

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Will my solar installer offer financing options?

Several solar installers also offer traditional financing, such as Dividend, LoanPal, Mosaic, Vivint,  SunRun, and PACE Programs as HERO, Renew Financial and YGrene. These full-service institutions help you avoid the potential hassle of purchasing. With this method, you have to work with only one company, as opposed to working with a lender and an installer.

Your could also look for financing through out your current lender by refinancing your home or taking a HELO (Home Equity Line Of credit), lend directly to you, and you take that money to purchase a solar energy system for yourself. This allows you some leeway in how you spend, but it means you’ll have to do all the work of buying the system.

Can I finance a solar battery?

Yes! To take more advantage of your solar energy system, you can finance a solar battery as combo, which stores energy from the system and saves it for future use instead of sending energy back to the grid. This battery can kick in during times of low solar activity or when your grid loses power.

Solar battery prices currently range from $3,000-over $12,000. 

If you frequently lose power, consider buying a battery along with your system, If you don’t lose power too often, you might want to hold off, since more cost-effective batteries are expected to be available for consumers as the technology evolves.

Do solar panels help resale value?

Yes, but only if you own the system, which happens when you take out a solar loan. If you decide to move, you can take the system with you when you sell, but you’ll have to restore the roof. Or, you can keep it on the roof and roll its cost into the building’s price.

With interest in renewable energy on the rise, recent studies on home appraisals suggest that homeowners, on average, are seeing an increase in resale value when they sell a home that already has a solar energy system installed.

Is it difficult to sell a house with leased panels?

It’s more difficult to sell a home or building when you have a solar lease or PPA than when you have a solar loan. If you think you’ll sell your home or commercial building in the near future, opt for a solar loan instead of a solar lease or PPA.

If you already have a solar lease or PPA and are getting ready to sell, then you have two options:

                     You can roll the lease or PPA into the cost of the building, meaning that the new owners will take over your monthly payments. Know that even when buyers are willing to take over the payments of your solar lease, the process isn’t simple

                      You can pay off the lease or PPA before selling, and the company will remove the solar panels. (The solar financing company will dictate the price of this.) Many home buyers aren’t interested in taking over the lease, and they especially don’t want to take over the lien that comes with the lease, which is causing many home sellers to pay off their solar lease or PPA before they sell their house.

Work with a real estate professional who is familiar with solar PPAs and leases when it’s time to sell your home to make sure the sale goes as smoothly as possible. Contact us to provide you more information and tips. 

What sorts of warranties do solar financing companies offer?

Most solar manufacture companies offer lifetime warranties on their solar panels. These warranties cover the system from 10 up to 25 years. For installation and roof penetration vary from 10 up to 25 years

Some companies, such as Dividend and Sunnova, offer the option to finance an extended warranty, which can cover the system for up to 25 years on monitoring and maintenance.