Is It Easy Selling a House With Solar Panels?
Solar panels can save you money on utility bills, reduce your carbon footprint, boost your home’s energy efficiency – the list goes on. With all these advantages, selling a house with solar panels should be easy, right?
Well, not quite. While the benefits are clear, buyers often focus on what it costs them to take over your solar home. Will I be burdened with more debt? Is there a mountain of paperwork waiting for me?
In this guide, we’ll look into these objections in relation to the factors that influence the sale process. We’ll also cover how you benefit from selling your solar-equipped home and some tips to help you close the deal.
Benefits of Selling a Home With Solar Panels
If you’re wondering whether it’s worth selling a solar-powered home, here’s a list of benefits that show why it can be a smart choice.
Promote Energy Savings as a Selling Point
With a solar home, instead of just mentioning upgrades like a “renovated kitchen” or a “spacious backyard”, you have an even more compelling pitch: savings on utility bills.
However, this is already probably a no-brainer for people shopping for new homes, given the rising popularity of solar panels among households.
A study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) supports this, illustrating how buyers are more likely to choose energy-efficient homes when real estate listings highlight this information.
So, where else can you focus on? Cash-earning opportunities like the SREC and net metering initiatives.
Let your buyer know that through a program called, Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC), they’ll be able to earn extra money by selling credits for the clean energy their solar panels produce.
On the other hand, with net metering, they can earn credits or reduce utility bills by sending excess solar energy back to the grid.
Keep in mind that, these programs may not be available everywhere. You’ll have to check first if they apply in your area.
Sell Your House More Quickly
The long-term savings on energy bills will definitely attract buyers quickly. But what really speeds up the process is how solar panels allow you to target a specific demographic: eco-conscious buyers.
These buyers are looking for more than just a house. They want a home that reflects their values, especially when it comes to sustainability.
Solar panels can directly cater to this demand by reducing a home’s carbon footprint and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
So, eco-conscious buyers who prioritize sustainability are more likely to be drawn to a home with solar, making it a faster sale.
Get Much Bigger Profits
The savings on energy bills and the appeal of helping the environment can significantly increase your home’s value – both in terms of property worth and perceived value.
In fact, according to a 2019 Zillow study, you can expect to profit 4.1% more when selling your home with solar panels. For a median-valued home, that could mean an extra $9,274 in your pocket.
Of course, how much you make in profit will depend on a few things – especially how you financed your solar panels. You should keep this in mind when thinking about whether you’ll see a positive return, break even, or possibly even lose out.
Factors That Influence How Easy It Will Be to Sell a Solar House
Buyer demographics, location, and other related factors do make a difference when you’re selling your solar home. But from what we’ve seen, the biggest factor that can make or break the sale is how you paid for your solar panels. Here’s an in-depth look at what to expect for each of the three situations.
Buying Your Solar Panels Outright
When you buy your solar panels outright, you own them completely – no ongoing payments or complex agreements to manage.
For you as the seller, you can confidently set a higher asking price for your home, factoring in the full value of the solar system since it’s already paid for.
Plus, you won’t have to deal with transferring loans or lease agreements. This benefits the buyer as well since this eliminates any added financial burden from assuming someone else’s payments or contracts.
Loaning Your Solar Panels
If you’re loaning your solar panels, there’s usually one of two routes you can take.
First, you could pay off the remaining loan balance in full. While this requires you to shell out a much larger sum (you’ll need to cover the solar system’s cost plus any interest), it allows you to offer your home with a clean title, free of any liens.
Much like the case where you buy your panels outright, the sales process is much easier for both you and the buyer.
Now, if you don’t have the funds, you can make arrangements to transfer the loan to the buyer. At times, this can be a turn-off since buyers typically wouldn’t want to deal with the risks involved with assuming a loan.
If a buyer does agree to take on the loan, be ready for them to negotiate a lower price or ask for discounts, especially if they feel that the loan transfer process could be time-consuming or complicated.
In this case, selling your house can get a bit challenging – but not as challenging as if you were tied to a solar panel contract, like a lease or PPA.
Signing a Solar Lease or Purchase Power Agreement (PPA)
In a solar lease or PPA, you’re locked into renting the solar system or paying for the electricity it generates for a lengthy term, usually 20 to 25 years.
They may seem like a great way to get solar panels without paying the upfront costs. But if you have to sell your home before the contract is up, the process can get a lot more complicated.
For one, you don’t actually own your solar panels, and the lease or PPA agreement stays with the house. A buyer would need to either take over the contract – something most buyers hesitate to do because of the long-term commitment – or buy their way out of it.
To make matters worse, these contracts often include annual price increases, so the payments keep going up over time. In fact, costs could end up being nearly equal to regular utility bills, leaving one essentially paying twice for power.
Worst case? You’ll end up having to buy out the lease or PPA yourself, which often means taking a financial hit just to move forward with the sale.
Tips for Selling a House With Solar Panels
Outside the primary factors discussed earlier, there are a few key steps you can take to help you close the sale.
Share All Relevant Documentation
When you present all paperwork involved, you show the buyers your commitment to transparency. Documents should include:
- Ownership details ** ** (and terms of the agreement, if financed or leased)
- Installation records, such as contracts, permits, and the installation date
- Maintenance and repair history
- Warranty information
- Utility bills and production data
- Transfer paperwork
Show “Actual” Energy Savings
Numbers speak louder than words, and giving your buyers concrete data can help them picture the financial benefits more clearly.
Share a few recent utility bills and include solar production reports from your monitoring system or installer. Better yet, calculate the total savings over time, whether that’s monthly or annual. This way, you also avoid underselling or overselling your solar system.
Choose a Solar-Savvy Real Estate Agent
If you have to enlist the help of a real estate agent, remember: Never assume that all agents know the ins and outs of solar systems for homes. Without the right knowledge and experience, an agent might miss opportunities to highlight your system’s value, or worse, undervalue it.
Leverage Solar Warranties
Highlight any existing warranties on the system, including the solar panels themselves, the inverter, and any installation services. Your buyers will feel more confident knowing that the system is covered for repairs or replacement in case something goes wrong.
Boost Your Home’s Resale Value With Solar
Who you trust to install your solar panel system makes a big difference in your home’s resale value. At Quote for Solar, we’ll make it easy for you to compare quotes from reputable solar panel installers who offer excellent customer service and strong warranties.
Simply request a quote, and we’ll provide you with 3 proposals from solar panel installers near you, saving you the hassle of reaching out to them individually.
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