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Do Solar Panels Have Value? And the Survey Says.....!

By
Real Estate Agent with Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 SA5376460000

This is not a public survey.  This is not a survey put out to the masses.  This is a  survey that I created after reading a Facebook post titled, "Do Solar Panels have value?"  The results of the answers were tallied and my expertise used to note the results.

 

As a realtor specializing in sustainability, which obviously includes the recommendation and understanding of PV solar, I'm always trolling social media in the hopes of answering questions and providing information.  That understanding and information is provided as a means to the better and clearer purchase and sale of homes with solar panels, owned or not. 

 

When I see a question posed or misinformation shared, my radar goes up and all else stops.  Misinformation is the betrayer of home sales.  If a feature is shared incorrectly or without enough information for a consumer to make an informed decision, liability issues arise.  Liability is a realtor's worst nightmare and could turn into a legal action.

 

If you are selling a home with solar panels, leased or owned, you as a homeowner must disclose everything you know about those panels.  Likewise, you should seek the advice of a trained professional who understands that leased solar panels have no value, but you still have a duty to disclose all of the information about the lease, escalating payments, monthly payments, and energy savings. 

 

If you own solar panels, with payments or NOT, everything needs to be disclosed.  BUT, in order to gain value, YOU MUST seek the advice of a professional who can tell you the exact sales process in order to gain value for owned solar panels.  If they can't share that methodology, don't hire them and also don't expect to receive any value unless you seek out someone with experience.

 

Back to the survey.  There were 377 comments on that thread.  I read every one of them, correcting misinformation along the way.  At the end of the Facebook post, I shared the reason there is no value for leased solar panels, AND THE EXACT process of how to get value for owned panels.  

 

Tallying the agent comments, 185 said that solar has no value - PERIOD.  The agents that answered yes or it depends - 66! 

 

When you list your home with any type of solar panels, leased or owned - which agent would you select!

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Comments (17)

Ed Silva, 203-206-0754
Mapleridge Realty, CT 203-206-0754 - Waterbury, CT
Central CT Real Estate Broker Serving all equally

I have had only 1 home list with solar panels, and they were not an issue as the house was all electric and with 2 years of electric bills, the buyers saw the impact

May 11, 2022 03:20 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

That's great Ed Silva !  Did they receive extra value for the solar panels on an appraisal?

May 11, 2022 03:26 PM
Ray Henson
eXp Realty of California, Inc. (lic. #01878277) - Elk Grove, CA
Realtor

I just purchased my first solar system about a year ago and will be moving into the house soon.  While my tenant was there and we were paying the bill, I could see there was value.  I will get a better feeling for it over the next year or two.  Is there value added?  Yes.  The harder question is how much value is added?  For me, the even more difficult question to answer is, was installing the system the best use of my money?  As inflation goes up, bond values fall and my stock portfolio crumbles, I am going to say that it was money well spent. 😉

May 11, 2022 04:30 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Thank you for reaching out Ray!  Is that home in Arizona?  Yes, your system has value. You can work to understand the value if you have all of the data about the solar panels.  Visit PVValue.com and with the information about the solar panels and your utility bills, you'll gain a value.  

If you're in Arizona, you can contact Spark and they'll review every green feature, provide value, reflect depreciation, and provide a full report! 

 

Thanks for commenting!

May 11, 2022 04:42 PM
June Piper-Brandon
Coldwell Banker Realty - Columbia, MD
Creating Generational Wealth Through Homeownership

I own a house with solar panels, they are owned, as the summer is coming along my electric bill is getting less and less as we get more sunshine.  It didn't add anything to the value at closing but I thought it was nice to have. 

May 11, 2022 06:00 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

We are seeing more solar panel installations in our community. The HOA is debating on  about their outdated standards.

May 12, 2022 04:51 AM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Interesting! I had one buyer who was buying a home and we found out late in the process that there was a leased solar system and she was going to have to take over the payments. Which was an extra payment that needed to be added to the mortgage application process. We weren't sure the sale was going to go through, but it did.

I did read somewhere that solar panels are not recyclable. Is that still true?

May 12, 2022 05:09 AM
Rocky Dickerson
Realty One Group - Las Vegas, NV
Superior Service!

The exact manner to get value from solar panels you own? Sounds like a great blog post or Tuesday talk to me.

May 12, 2022 09:29 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

There was no value for solar panels because no one performed the calculation June Piper-Brandon !  Interestingly enough, Maryland is #8 on the solar per capita scale in the US:

https://www.seia.org/sites/default/files/resources/Top-10-solar-states-1pager.pdf

May 12, 2022 01:44 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Roy Kelley many HOA's across the country are being challenged by their "outdated" standards!  Here in AZ, they can't prohibit them.  The more popular they get, you'll see HOA's don't have a leg to stand on! 

That's one of the biggest agent liabilities Kat Palmiotti !   Agents that don't know enough to ask and get all of the documents to disclose to buyers are doing a great disservice to a transaction.  There have been lawsuits on this topic!  And did you know that underwriters aren't supposed to add the payment to the DTI as they aren't taking into consideration the utility/energy savings that offsets the payment! 

May 12, 2022 01:46 PM
Kat Palmiotti

Jan Green - I did not know underwriters aren't supposed to add the payment to the DTI - this one did!

May 12, 2022 03:56 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Solar is a hot topic in itself!  Thank you Rocky Dickerson !  In Arizona, a brand new company just surfaced, "Spark"!  I gave them my information and they created a valuation from that and other sites.  It was amazing!

May 12, 2022 01:47 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Jan- I don't know that much about solar panels except to caution anyone buying a home that has them to make sure they know if they are leased and what implications will arise from that. 

May 13, 2022 11:00 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Spot on Kathy Streib !  It's critically important to know what you're buying and the aspects of the panels.  How long is the lease?  What about escalating payments?  

May 14, 2022 04:23 PM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

I have no experience with home solar panels, but we did buy some for our travel trailer and found them to be very useful. Obviously a benefit when you are staying at places without available power which is not the case for homes.

May 15, 2022 02:31 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Yes, Sharon Tara , unless that home is an off-grid home.  Power companies don't like us to unplug from the grid, but homes built on county islands might be able to get away with it.  So glad you've found a way to utilize solar for your travel trailer!  Have fun!

May 18, 2022 10:10 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

That seems to be the case and I see that it will eventually have to be the main way

May 26, 2022 08:40 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

It should be "the main way"  Laura Cerrano .  The course I created and information I provided is National, not local.   So yes, it should be the main way.  Realtors across the country don't know these details and if solar panels aren't as common, they may not understand that this is not local, but national.  Good point. 

May 27, 2022 10:12 AM