Mortgage & Solar Panels

rushandy

Dave_Ham wrote: »

Be useful to keep this thread updated, as I too believe we are all going to see this more and more often in months/years to come.


Be interested to see how this ends..


Good luck

Dave,

I couldn't agree more. Given that the CML guidelines have been around for a while now, and most leases written nowadays are CML compliant, I suspect that this kind of issue will primarily affect those who had RaR solar panels installed in 2011 / 2012. However, I bet that's still quite a lot of people.

The pragmatic way to deal with this would be to have a relatively simple process in place to amend these leases so that they don't fall foul of banks lending criteria. That's a win-win for both parties really. I have spoken to another forum member who was in the same position and managed to have their RaR lease amended by the panel provider to bring it in line with CML guidance, so it is possible. This was a different provider however (i.e. not E.on).

In any case, I will update this thread with my experiences once we have an outcome one way or another.

Regards
Andy

rushandy

Hi all,

A further update...

After a bit of back and forth between the bank and the solicitors, the key sticking point seems to be the status of the Solar PV provider - Our Generation Ltd.

The issue at hand seems to be the following requirement in the CML's guidance on RaR solar panels:

" Evidence that the provider and installer are members of the REAL Assurance Scheme. "

The installer of the panels (Mark Group Ltd) is indeed a member, however the provider (Our Generation Ltd) is not a member, and this is giving the bank cause for concern.

I seem to be at a bit of a stalemate with this at present, with the bank and the solicitor in a bit of a Mexican stand-off. However I will continue to update this thread as and when I get further information, as it may help someone else further down the line.

Andy

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Andy

Thanks for the update.

The colleague I emailed you about who specialises in the E.ON SolarExchange tells me you haven't been in touch yet. She's standing by ready to help if you need her.

Malc

tunnel

If you're planning on stopping in the property long term(forever home) then surely it would be better to speak with the vendor about buying out the lease(you say £13k ish). Maybe even looking at splitting that amount with them

Reason being is that if the panels were installed in say 2011 then there's still another 22years of the FiT left at the highest rate of 46.8p per kWh produced(plus export). RaR schemes only cherry pick the best rooves to place panels on so i'm guessing that there will be a 4kWp system installed facing something like south.
That roof will give a return of over £1700 a year tax free which also has the benefit of index linking. Even without the index link 22 x £1700=£37400 over the 22 years, £24K over the cost of the buy out.

For me personally, it's a no brainer...but then i have solar panels(paid for)

kiddakidda

The problem is not with the panels or the potential benefits.

The problem is that the OP wants to buy the property but his lender will not accept / not comfortable with the charge/lease on the roof owned by a third party.

Of course if the panels had been purchased all of this would not have been an issue.

rushandy

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Hi Andy

Thanks for the update.

The colleague I emailed you about who specialises in the E.ON SolarExchange tells me you haven't been in touch yet. She's standing by ready to help if you need her.

Malc

Hi Malc,

Still waiting on the final decision from the bank. Hopefully will have it this week.

Regards
Andy

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Morning Andy and thanks for keeping me in the loop.

I've received your email too.

Hope all goes well with the bank.

Malc

rushandy

Just thought I'd post a quick update on this as promised. It's been a bit of a saga to be honest, but I'll post the main points to keep it short.

The initial response from the bank was that they would not lend on the property due to the non-compliance of the lease with current CML guidelines.

The vendor's solicitor then contacted the scheme provider (Our Generation / Mark Group Ltd), who advised that they had sold the rights on to another company (a subsidiary of EON), but also stated that the lease could not be amended as they believed it was compliant with the CML guidelines at the time it was written. Why they would have a view on whether or not the lease could be amended (given that they've relinquished their interest in the contract by selling it on), I'm not sure.

I then started to negotiate a buyout of the lease with the vendor. We got so far, but then mid-way received a further communication from the bank effectively saying they had changed their minds and were now willing to lend on the property!

So at the moment, I'm waiting for the vendor to sort out his purchase so our purchase of his house can proceed. I'm happy to proceed with the lease in place and will be contacting Eon to try again to get the lease made CML compliant once we've bought the house.

TrickyDicky101

I think you're brave to continue with the purchase - you have seen first hand what trouble leased solar panels can cause.

The time to renegotiate the lease (as that is effectively what you want to do) is before you buy the property, not after.

amnblog

Hi Andy


It looks from the outside that you are pulling out all the stops to make the 'vendors problem' your problem.