house needing roof work

Bee70

Hi,
we are looking to buy a house which has free solar panels installed. We noticed that the roof itself needs some work, particularly refelting.
I am struggling to find information on how much it would cost to get the roof sorted, and how to deal with the fact that the panels would need to come off.
I've also read that the free solar panels are tied to a contract that mortgage lenders dont like.
Is this true??

chris_m

Bee70 wrote: »

I've also read that the free solar panels are tied to a contract that mortgage lenders dont like.
Is this true??

It certainly can be - because the house is the security on the loan and, therefore, can be sold to recover their money if the borrower defaults. However, that is more tricky if part of the property, i.e. the roof, is leased to a third party - which is effectively what happens when people have free solar panels installed.

anselld

You need to get sight of the lease agreement under which the roof is "rented" to the solar company. This should explain what happens in the event that roof repairs are necessary. Some contracts allow for a limited number of removals for repair through the life of the contract, some don't.

You will also need to show the contract to the Mortgage Company to see if they are happy with it or not.

Why do you think the roof needs re-felting anyway? Felt serves very little purpose as far as weather proofing a pitched roof is concerned provided that the tiles are in good repair.

Bee70

thanks for the replies -
I assumed the roof felt was necessary for water proofing? Either way, work needs to be done up there, as there are some tiles missing and the flashing has gone.
It would be amazing if I wouldn't have to pull up the whole roof, especially with the logistics of removing solar panels to do it..

eddddy

You need to check the roof lease to see what it says about removing the solar panels for roof maintenance.

You may have to pay the solar panel owners to cover their lost income, whilst you're repairing the roof.

The main thing to check is whether the roof lease is acceptable to your mortgage lender. If it's not, you can ask the solar panel owners to change the lease - but they may refuse. In that case, I guess you'd have to walk away.