Introduction

You may have found this article because you were entertaining the idea of solar and were wondering what impact going solar would have when you go to sell the home. Will it raise the value like some people say? Or would it complicate the process and make it impossible to sell your home because people won’t want to buy the home? The answer, like always, is somewhere in the middle. 

Solar is one of the only home improvement projects that saves money, is exempt from property and sales tax (NJ), and helps the environment. On top of that, there is a wave of new home buyers – many of them have electric vehicles and care about their carbon footprint. All arrows point to it being an attractive value add for the home… So where can it go wrong? 

The Reality of Selling Your Home With Solar

Appraisal and Valuation

• Not all home appraisers are familiar with the different programs for solar panels, which can lead to some added complexity for valuation.
• The impact of solar panels on home value can vary depending on the state and energy costs with the utility company. In states like NJ, NY, or CT, energy rates are relatively high compared to the nation’s average, which can make a low electric bill even more attractive. Additionally, as rates go up, the proposition for Solar becomes even better since the rate is fixed.

Ownership vs PPA

• Fully owned solar panels can add value to your home and make it more attractive to buyers.
• A power purchase agreement (PPA) can add an extra layer to the sale process, as the agreement is typically transferred to the new owner. You can also purchase the system from the PPA provider before selling your home to make the process even easier. 

Related articles:

What Exactly Is a Solar PPA?

Transferability of Agreements

• Potential buyers can take over the PPA or financing agreement. This might take a few extra signatures for them to become the authorized user and have the warranties transferred.
• New owners may need to qualify for the program with a credit score over 600, which typically is not an issue if they are qualified enough to buy a home. 

Warranty Transfer

• You want to make sure that warranties for the solar panels are transferable to the new owner to provide peace of mind. We at Cleanstart can assist you with this, but other companies may not.
• If you have a service agreement for maintenance, check if it can be transferred to the buyer. We at Cleanstart can assist you with this, but other companies may not.

How To Sell Your Home With Solar

What You’d Need

• Hold onto your high summer electric bills (pre solar install) so you can highlight the energy savings on your new electric costs to prospective buyers. If you can prove that the solar panels will save money, this will increase the desirability. 
• Provide documentation on the solar system, including installation details, contracts and warranty documents. You may also be able to print energy production records via your monitoring app.

Professional Help

• Work with a real estate agent who has experience selling homes with solar panels and can effectively market the benefits to buyers. Your real estate agent’s goal is to sell your home – if there are any improvements such as windows, a new roof or a solar system, your agent should be able to present them as selling points.
• At Cleanstart, we provide customer support to all of our clients. This means that we are here to help you through the sale process of your home – whether that means you need your contracts, warranties, help with production data, or even us to educate and assist your new buyers… we are here for you!

Conclusion

Selling a home with solar panels can be an attractive proposition, offering potential buyers the benefit of reduced energy costs and a smaller carbon footprint. According to a national study using data from Zillow, homes with solar sell for 4.1% more on average and even more in New Jersey (9.9%). Now, it’s very important to note that these premiums are not guaranteed, just like any other home improvement project. I’d imagine that if you were interested in going solar for your own home, you would also be interested in buying a home that already had solar panels on it. You might even prefer it since all the hard work is already done. This same logic can apply to someone else buying your home.

Doing a home improvement can be an important decision. Most people who do them usually have home value in the back of their minds. Whether it be a pool, windows, HVAC, solar, or an even addition. Although, Home value isn’t the main reason people usually do or don’t do these things. They do them because they want to and see the benefits. Will they get all of their money back when they go to sell? Probably not. Will they get some of their money back? Probably.

You should go solar because you want to. Fundamentally, we know it is the right decision to make. It saves you money and helps the environment. Solar is not anything new and by the time you go to sell, there would have been hundreds of homes that have already sold with solar in your area. Like everything else, it becomes more common over time. Many fears about going solar (can’t sell my home, roof collapsing, radiation) have very easy and simple solutions to them.

If you are curious to know more about how solar can benefit you and your home specifically, we offer free 30 minute solar consultations with an expert. Simply click the link and we will be happy to answer all of your questions and show you savings projections so you can decide for yourself whether it is a good fit.