Currently looking to buy a solar panelled home

sheffield_soldier

Hi,

We are just about to get accepted I believe on a house we want. Everything is perfect for us and it has Solar Panels. I was reading last night that this could be an issue with mortgage lenders.  Before I get too attached to this house, should I be walking away? What do I need to look for?

Chandler85

It is all about if they are owned by the home owner and not on a rent a roof scheme (mortgage lenders don't usually like these) and then you need to check the feed in tariffs etc are transferred to you.

They aren't necessarily an issue, and a few enquiries will clarify quickly if they will be or not.

Otibdb

We've just completed on a house that has leased solar panals on a 'rent a roof' scheme. I did quite a lot of research prior to offering so was well aware of the potential issues. We offered 5% below asking price in anticipation of problems and this was accepted.

Mortgage lenders will generally only lend if the lease meets the Council of Mortgage Lenders minimum requirements. The main thing they're looking for is the right to remove the panals if they were to ever repossess the property.

The other thing you'll need is the MCS certificate to show they've been installed to the required standard.

If the lease isn't up to standard it will need to be changed - this can cause long delays, especially as a lot of these rent a roof companies no longer operate, so it can be difficult to get in contact with the owners of lease.

I would recommend requesting a copy of the lease asap so you can at least get an idea of its up to standard or not. Flag it up with your solicitors so they can start looking into it early on. Try and find out who owns the lease and if they are contactable. 

On completion you will be bound by the terms of the lease, so make sure you know what they are and are happy with them. 

As it happens, there we no issues with our purchase, Natwest were satisfied, and there was nothing in the lease that put us off.

Don't let it put you off, proceed with caution and be prepared for possible delays. Good luck! 

sheffield_soldier

Otibdb said:

We've just completed on a house that has leased solar panals on a 'rent a roof' scheme. I did quite a lot of research prior to offering so was well aware of the potential issues. We offered 5% below asking price in anticipation of problems and this was accepted.

Mortgage lenders will generally only lend if the lease meets the Council of Mortgage Lenders minimum requirements. The main thing they're looking for is the right to remove the panals if they were to ever repossess the property.

The other thing you'll need is the MCS certificate to show they've been installed to the required standard.

If the lease isn't up to standard it will need to be changed - this can cause long delays, especially as a lot of these rent a roof companies no longer operate, so it can be difficult to get in contact with the owners of lease.

I would recommend requesting a copy of the lease asap so you can at least get an idea of its up to standard or not. Flag it up with your solicitors so they can start looking into it early on. Try and find out who owns the lease and if they are contactable. 

On completion you will be bound by the terms of the lease, so make sure you know what they are and are happy with them. 

As it happens, there we no issues with our purchase, Natwest were satisfied, and there was nothing in the lease that put us off.

Don't let it put you off, proceed with caution and be prepared for possible delays. Good luck! 

Thanks, that's really useful information. 

Difficult now because we have fallen in love with this house. I'm concerned if we are going to have issues.

I have just spoken to the estate agent and she thinks they are leased but they say they are unaware of any issues when getting mortgages with them. Just getting in touch with my Mortgage advisor now. 

By taking on Solar panels is there any future costs to the buyer, do they actually save you money? Do we have to provide maintenance, cleaning etc for them?

Otibdb

With ours the owners of the panels are responsible for all maintenance, we just have to provide access with 'reasonable' notice given. Other leases may differ so definitely something to look for. 

We get 'free' electric during the day - the owners of the solar panals then get the feed in tariff on anything we don't use. We only moved in last week, so I don't know how exactly this will effect our bills.

The estate agents are just telling you what you want to hear. Ask them if the seller has a copy of the lease they can send you. I was able to go though the lease before submitting our offer. 

The other thing to consider is the future saleability of your property. Leased solar panals will put buyers off. If you are likely to move again before the lease expires it would be worth looking into how much it might cost to buy out the lease. 

eddddy

Just for info - to help you understand the situation - "Leased Solar Panels" probably isn't a good description.

The situation is generally like this  (but it's possible that you have a different arrangement)   :

• The owner of the (freehold) house has leased-out an area of their roof to a company. The lease might be for 20 years.

• i.e. The house owner is the landlord and the company is their tenant (FWIW, I think it's likely to be a protected business tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954)

• The tenant company has put their solar panels on the part of the roof that they have leased

(Conceptually, it would be similar to if you leased your spare bedroom or your garage to a company for 20 years, and they put their equipment in there.)


So, a mortgage lender will want to make sure they are happy with the lease that's been granted.

And you probably need to check on things like:

• Is the structure of the roof strong enough to hold the solar panels? (An MCS certificate suggests it should be, but maybe you want to check that.)

• What happens if your roof starts leaking, and the panels need to be removed for repairs. Will your tenant do that? Will they charge you?

• What's the situation with insuring the panels? For example, if there's a fire, or if you accidentally hit one with a cricket ball etc.

• And I guess there's the question of who cleans grime off them.

siri_do_one

My 2p worth.
I bought my house with 4KW of solar panels 5 years ago with no mortgage issues, The installation company had already sold off all the future feed-in tariffs to another company and appeared to be reduced to holding the assets (panels) for long term depreciation. I think 'maintenance' visits will only happen if I spot a problem in the system.

As for savings, during the summer months working from home is close to being solar only* and overall my usage drops by around 150KW/h per month compared to winter. Basically, if you're getting the solar for 'free' with the house and the roof under it isn't going to need any serious work done in the foreseeable future you should only benefit.

*Kettle included on a really sunny day.

Scotbot

All depends on the lease. If it is with A Shade Greener I would think twice. Search the forum and you will find lots of threads about them.

One thing you can do straight away is ask for a copy of the lease. It will tell you who the lease is with, a lot of companies went bust which could be an issue Apart from telling you who the lease is with it will also tell you if the vendor has the paperwork. Some people didn't realise they would need it to sell. If they can't give you a copy pretty quickly you definitely have a problem