Buying a house with existing lease solar panels

Shauna93

Hello,

Myself and my partner are interested in a particular house but it has leased solar panels that have been installed since 2012.

The estate agent has sent over the original agreement as soon as asked which outlines all of the liabilities etc.

We don’t know enough about the solar panels and the schemes to feel confident enough in going forward.

Any information people have or recommendations would be greatly appreciated :o


Can anyone give any recommendations

Ecommerce.businessman

I used to be a sales man I use to sell them free solar panels.

They are owned by one of 3 companies the biggest one called A Shade Greener they own the panels they are leased to the house for FREE.

The contract says the panels can not be removed for 25 years. Well can be taken off twice for roof repairs etc then put back on.

The homeowner gets the free electricity A Shade Greener sells surplus electricity back to the grid and they get the feed in tarriffs so after 25 years the panels are paid with profit on top.

The electricity bill can be halfed.

There is no negative issue for the home owner.

Lots of people brought atleast 50,000+ houses in the UK.

If you been to streets with many houses with them on this is why they were completely free.

Ecommerce.businessman

Which company name is on the agreement is it A Shade Greener?

What liabilities are written on agreement?

eddddy

The challenge may be getting a mortgage.

At the very least, the lease must be CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders) compliant.

Even then, some mortgage lenders may not be keen to lend.

A newspaper article about this: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jan/31/leasehold-solar-panels-lease-mortgage-house-sale

Some more info from the CML:
https://www.cml.org.uk/policy/guidance/all/cml-bsa-guidance-and-minimum-requirements-regarding-leases-of/

Shauna93

The company is called McVickers Electrical.

It appears to be a local electrical company to my area.

The liabilities mention things like should the property owners cause any damage or obstruct the panacea to work, we should pay for repairs and loss of income.

The thing I am more concerned about is if the panels are damaged through matters beyond our control such as bad weather.

sevenhills

I bought my council house which had solar panels installed, by Yorkshire Energy, a local energy saving trust.
It all went well, but I now have ownership. The paperwork can bring delays, you may not get ownership.

jackieblack

Ecommerce.businessman wrote: »

I used to be a sales man I use to sell them free solar panels.

They are owned by one of 3 companies the biggest one called A Shade Greener they own the panels they are leased to the house for FREE.

The contract says the panels can not be removed for 25 years. Well can be taken off twice for roof repairs etc then put back on.

The homeowner gets the free electricity A Shade Greener sells surplus electricity back to the grid and they get the feed in tarriffs so after 25 years the panels are paid with profit on top.

The electricity bill can be halfed. No it can't

There is no negative issue for the home owner. Yes there are, including finding someone willing to buy a home with these leased panels on, and then the buyers being able to find a lender willing to offer a mortgage on it

Lots of people brought atleast 50,000+ houses in the UK. hmmm... But how many would have agreed If they had been told the truth and/or done some research on the reality and not just relied on the spin/lies they were being fed?

If you been to streets with many houses with them on this is why they were completely free.

Unfortunately most of these 'salesmen' didn't know what they were talking about, simply repeating the script they were given.
I used to listen to what they were saying to my neighbour (who likes a good natter with anyone who comes to her door), 90% of it was utter rubbish.
I even had a couple knock on my door... despite the fact that my (paid for) panels are clearly visible on the front slope of my roof :doh:

lisyloo

There is no negative issue for the home owner.

This is not true.
It can put some buyers off especially if they are unsightly.


It could mean scaffolding which is a security issues e.g. burglars can easily get into upstairs windows.


I have solar panels and I'm quite happy with them, but it's not true to say there are NO issues.

sevenhills

Shauna93 wrote: »

The company is called McVickers Electrical.

It appears to be a local electrical company to my area.

I have not seen that name before on here, maybe they are paid for panels, not the free ones which some have a negative view of.


The ownership of the panels should be transferred to you, that is what happened with my council house sale.

Grenage

I bought and sold a house with such panels. I had no issues, and I paid little for electricity. If you don't want to do anything with the roof, they're probably ok.

Ecommerce.businessman

£700 a sale it doesn't matter what rubbish they told you, tough luck to you. We sales men made a lot of money then moved onwards and upwards.