Business
Today I want to talk about residential solar energy and is it a good idea? To be honest, I love solar. I think its a great thing. I think there are great applications for it in off-grid situations where there are no power lines and even in some situations where there is power. In NC we have a tremendous amount of solar gain. Lots of sun on most days. So here’s the thing that I want to talk about. How do solar panels affect the sale or purchase of a home? I’ve heard a number of stories about this. One is… they don’t really add that much value to a home. Appraiser don’t really add for it because not everyone wants them. Some buyers really value them though. Kind of like a pool. Some home buyers shop for homes with pools. That’s a small subset of the buyers out there. Other’s absolutely don’t want a pool. Some buyers don’t particularly care. I think its the same for solar. The big question is does Fannie Mae allow them to be included in the home’s value? The answer is NO. What difference does that make? Fannie Mae is like the loan police. They make homes loan more affordable to low and middle income borrowers. They typically buy loans from lenders of all sizes. So they set most lending guidelines that lenders must conform to. In the Asheville area, it is probably easier to find someone who will embrace solar energy. So having panels on a home wouldn’t throw that many buyers off… As long as those panels are owned and paid off. This is where solar can complicate the transaction. Did you borrow money to buy the Panels? That loan will have to be paid off. Did you lease the panels on your house? That lease my have to be bought out or if the lease can be transferred, the added lease expense could throw the buyer’s debt ratios thus preventing them from affording the house. Some questions the buyer should ask is: who is the panel manufacturer and who installed the system? Is the warranty slash service agreement transferrable? How much does the system offset the power bill? If leased, do I pay the lease on the system? Or do I pay the power power company or do I pay both? Do I need to qualify for the solar system lease in order to transfer it? All of this should be researched by the buyer during the due diligence period when inspecting and examining the house.