Selling your Solar Panels - Lightsource

nobby1963

Hi Andyw666,
I'm afraid I'm with Mart here ....and I'll apologise in advance if I've got you wrong here but ...
So you had your panels installed in November 2011 just like me.
You reckon your revenue has been £1900 a year.
You also say you have already paid off your installation costs too.
5 years at £1900 a year = £9500.
Call me sceptical here but I did an awful lot of searching to get my system installed for £11000 back then.
Didn't you do well !
Any how, let's look forward to many more contributions from you in the forum.
And again if I have done you an injustice then I'm sorry but this all seems a little contrived to me.

Nobby.

tunnel

Andyw666 wrote: »

a phone call received later and a few more details discussed following which I have an offer of £18000:
Install date 11/2011 - FiT payments alone have fully covered install cost already.
Average annual FiT payments have been £1900
15 years of 20 remaining: 15 x 1900 = 28500

So, £18000 lump sum now

vs

equiv of £475 every 3 months for the next 15 years (not accounting for inflation/index linking or whatever the increases in payment rates are).

There's one serious flaw in your calculations I'm afraid.
IF you had had an install in 11/2011 then you would have had a contract for 25 years(that's the same month my first set of panels went on)
So there would be 20 x £1900 remaining and not 15 as you have stated....that's 20 years of RPI linked payments which would probably tally over £40k. Why sell for £18k unless you're really desperate


I'm with Mart and nobby, hence when quoting your post I removed the companies name so as not to alert Google.

Martyn1981

nobby1963 wrote: »

5 years at £1900 a year = £9500.

Nobby.

I'm slipping, I missed that bit. Yep, best buys were about £11k in Nov, then fell to £9-£10k in Mch Apr 2012, £7-£8k by Aug 2012.

Interestingly, the poster is worried about future costs, yet has an annual income that would pay for an entire new install in just 3yrs or less.

@ T, it was the 20yr claim that 'set me off'. Perhaps I'm being too cynical, and have misjudged the poster, and hopefully we've saved them from a large financial loss, but I'd have expected a pre Aug 2012 PV'er to assume all subsidies were 25yrs, not the reverse and to assume theirs was 20yrs?


I've had a card through the post from 'them', also had two phonecalls from different companies. Whilst I've let it slide, on the Navitron forum some have pursued the issue as the contacts breach TPS and MPS rules.

Also when asked how they'd obtained the information, the forum members were told that MCS had supplied it. But when MCS were asked, they stated that they don't give out that information.

Playing devil's advocate, I suppose some folk would like to know that this service is available, but (for me) that argument falls down as the deals are always so poor and one sided. Dare I say bordering on 'rip-off' levels.

Martyn1981

just had a call from (decided not to give them free advertising) 'A Company' wanting to know if I'd be interested in selling my FiT.

I asked them where they got my details from, but he only knew that they'd been 'bought'. I asked if they were TPS registered and he said they were, but I probably ticked (or forgot to tick) some box when the install took place ........ yeah right! I expressed my doubts.

When I playfully asked if they were still ripping people off with offers that were worse than a personal loan financed by FiT receipts ...... he hung up on me.

Result! :dance:

Andyw666

Hi again and thanks everyone for the replies, sorry I've not had time to follow up before now.....you've all obviously had different online forum experiences to myself judging by the skepticism - don't see the sales pitch myself, just quoted the facts ;-)

All facts are as quoted with the possible exception of the 20 year term / install price quoted which were quoted from memory - having checked the paperwork I stand corrected, 25 years.....and the actual cost was £9995 which included a BT module for the inverter and BT monitor and replacement of our fuse/distribution panel.

16 x Enfinity 240 watt solar panel
1 SMA Sunny Boy SB3800 Inverter + BT Module
2 AC Isolators
2 DC Isolators
1 Elster A100C Generation Meter
1 SMA Sunny Beam BT Monitor
1 Consumer Unit (Fuse/distribution panel)

The sole purpose of my post was simply to seek opinions
OK, the offer is even less attractive with the additional 5 years of FIT payments I'd not taken account of.....but all the same receipt of a lump sum still has some appeal over 20 years of quarterly payments (many of which [likely a majority] we won't receive as and when we move house ;- )
I hadn't really sat down and done the sums prior to my original post and still haven't which I guess is an indication of my consideration of the offer being somewhat half hearted!

Still very interested to hear from people with actual experience of selling properties with 'owned' solar systems and 'leased' systems - really not sure what impact either has on saleability / sale prices.

tunnel

Andyw666 wrote: »

Still very interested to hear from people with actual experience of selling properties with 'owned' solar systems and 'leased' systems - really not sure what impact either has on saleability / sale prices.

Simples.......I'd buy a house with "owned" panels....... as for leased panels.....I wouldn't touch a house with them with a bargepole.
Of course it's only my personal opinion but I would hope anyone buying with leased panels would do their homework first as to what they're getting themselves into but believe in reality they're blinkered by the "free" electric and not the fact the whole roof is leased to someone else.

Martyn1981

Andyw666 wrote: »

Still very interested to hear from people with actual experience of selling properties with 'owned' solar systems and 'leased' systems - really not sure what impact either has on saleability / sale prices.

What T said. Plus, if you sell your house, you can tell the potential buyers what the annual income is, or what the lump sum offer is, to work out a value for the PV system.

The money being offered by the FiT buyout people is very poor, as I pointed out, you could have the same cash lump sum today, from a personal loan repaid via FiTs receipts and still have years of income left after the loan is repaid.

Regarding maintenance and repairs, well your annual income would pay for a whole new install in 3 years, so that seems reasonably well covered too.

Andyw666

Offer declined ....
Hi, your offer was of some interest but on doing the 'sums' was ultimately not that attractive.
With our system just 5 years old there's 20 years of FIT payments to come and having averaged £1900pa income that equates to £38000....the effective loss of £20000 (£38000 minus the lump sum you offer) far out ways the benefits of a lump sum payment of £18000 now.
Additionally I have concerns regards the effects of 'renting' our roof space/solar panels on any future roof maintenance that may be required and potential difficulties as and when we sell the property.

pinnks

Nice one - and you didn't even build in the effects of inflation on FiTs...

nobby1963

Had a card through the post from Lightsource myself this morning.
I wonder who 'sold on ' my contact details to them .....
Anyway, part of me is curious to see what they would offer but then again part of me thinks don't be a daft !!!!!! !