Guidance on buying a house with solar panels?

rosemarion

Hi all,

This is my first post, so I hope I'm posting in the right area...
My partner and I are buying a house that has solar panels, which is brill , but we've never had them before.

We're going to change energy providers when we move in, so do we need to tell them about the solar panels so they can apply a discount/feed-in tariff?

I'm not sure how much paperwork we're going to have regarding the solar panels, so is there anything we'll need to get/have done in order to get discounts/reductions/anything...!

Also, if anyone has any positive experiences with energy suppliers being really good with solar panels and helping out, I'd be most grateful to hear the story!

firefox1956

The solar panels have nothing to do with your energy supplier.
For example your FIT payments can come from Scottish Power & your supply from anybody you like.
I would have thought you would have some paperwork somewhere to tell you who is paying your FIT payments.
That is presuming the previous owners have informed whoever pays the FIT payments that the house has changed ownership and bank accounts details have been changed for receipt of the payments.
HTH

System

Hi. A few points:

1. Your energy supplier and FIT payer may not be the same utility company.

2. If the panels are not part of any 'rent a roof' scheme then make sure that your House purchase contract specifically mentions the PV solar installation (possibly under fixtures and fittings - but a solicitor can advise).

3. Take normal and PV meter readings on the day that you move in. Remember that as far as gas and electricity supply is concerned you are on a 'deemed contract' with the existing supplier. Ring them up and give them your meter readings, details etc. You are then free to switch but you will be billed by the existing supplier until the date at which the switch goes through.

4. To keep things simple, personally, I would stay with the current PV FIT payer as they have all the the systems details on file etc. You don't get more money by switching and there is no need for you to use one energy company for gas, electricity and PV payments.

To lodge your claim for FIT payments, it is not as simple as just ringing up and saying 'hi - I am here'. You may need to fill in a form similar to this

http://www.goodenergy.co.uk/media/W1siZiIsIjUwM2Y3MGY4ZjdiZTQ3MDAwMjAwNDg5NyJdXQ/GEY1.118_ChangeofOwnership_form_06.pdf

You may have to send off confirmation (such as a copy of the sale contract) to prove the change of ownership. If it were me, I would ask the seller for details of the company the system is registered with. Contact the energy company to tell them that there will be a change of ownership etc. Ask for the appropriate form and make sure that your solicitor is aware that he needs to get hold of MCS certificates, inverter and panel guarantees etc at completion.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Hengus mentioned "rent a roof". Be sure to find out if the house owners actually own the PV system or if they are just leasing their roof out.

In the first scenario, if the current owners don't transfer the system to you they will continue to receive the FiT even after they move out!

In the second scenario the FiT will continue to be paid to the installers. Additionally you would not be able to install your own system at a later date, should you so wish.

Cardew

In addition to the excellent advice above, ensure they are solar PV panels and not solar hot water panels!!

buy_housesolar_panels?

Hello. I too am looking to buy a house with 16 solar panels from
Homesun and am now spooked by internet stories that mortgage lenders can be challenging - I know the elderly couple who took the panels don't own them. Any experiences to share on this issue or should I walk away from this property now! Thanks in advance

Cardew

buy_house/solar_panels? wrote: »

Hello. I too am looking to buy a house with 16 solar panels from
Homesun and am now spooked by internet stories that mortgage lenders can be challenging - I know the elderly couple who took the panels don't own them. Any experiences to share on this issue or should I walk away from this property now! Thanks in advance

I suggest you do a search on this website for Rent-A-Roof solar panels.


As you say there are reports that these panels can cause problems with mortgage providers. However nobody on here can quantify the problem.

den51cat

Hi, can anybody give us some advice, we signed up to solar panel contract which is costing £15.500 over 10 years. We were led to believe that the FIT would be enough to cover the monthly outgoings of £120 a month but our first pay back was £169 for 3 months. We are so worried we cant meet the payments. Is there any way we can get out of this contract??

thenudeone

den51cat - You ought to start your own thread on this rather than add on to an unrelated thread.

Are you sure you have a full quarter of FIT generation, and that you've read the meter correctly?

All installers have to use the same calculations (known as SAPs) when estimating FIT payments. If that calculation is correct, it's up to you to decide whether the installation price was a good price for the work.

When did you sign up to this? The current price for a typical 4kW system is around £6k installed, which would provide a FIT payment of ball park £600-£800 pa in ideal technical conditions. [Three years ago the price was double that, but the FIT was also about double, so £15k would not have been massively overpriced at the time.]

In general, the law doesn't allow you to get out of a contract just because the price is grossly excessive - it's your job to shop around and do research.

Even if the SAP calculations are correct, your payments will be different depending on the weather over the period. My FIT payments have been consistently more than the calculations estimated.

Cardew

den51cat wrote: »

Hi, can anybody give us some advice, we signed up to solar panel contract which is costing £15.500 over 10 years. We were led to believe that the FIT would be enough to cover the monthly outgoings of £120 a month but our first pay back was £169 for 3 months. We are so worried we cant meet the payments. Is there any way we can get out of this contract??

I suspect that much of the £15,500 will not be the installation costs but borrowing money to pay for that installation at very high interest rates.


It is also pertinent that if you have just got your £169 for the summer months, your subsequent quarterly payments will be less.


There is a post here that will be of interest:


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5043214

rosemarion

Thanks everyone, for all your replies!
We will own the solar panels outright (not a rent-a-roof scheme), and they are definitely the full solar panels rather than just the hot water ones. They are included in the sale, as we got held up for about 3 weeks as we made sure everything was okay legally.

From what everyone has said, I'll ask the current owner to give us the details about the FIT... If we don't get any answers, should I go straight to the current energy provider and see if they can sort us out? Or does it have to be the energy provider that was originally providing the FIT?

Thanks again!