Buying a house with solar panels

Ram_Tungala

Reposting this post to green & ethical MoneySaving category after the suggestion from one member

I am a first time buyer. I have made an offer for a terraced house which was accepted. In offer we made, seller told that he will take the solar panels. Now he came back to us saying that can give his solar panels(no battery installed) to us with a price. Below are the solar panel details he has given to us.

he said 16 Panels (might not be sure, he said he is going to check again and confirm as they might be 14) with 285 wattage per panel
Installation year 2017, 25 years fit, 5 years completed so 20 years left.
Panels are transferable to my name he was not sure about Feed in Tariff. I believe FIT can be transferred to new home. Correct me if I am wrong! 
Solar panels are not on finance.
No shading so performing well.
he said the final price is £8500.

I need help in making a good offer as well as any other things I need to check with him before purchasing it?

Do I get any valuation from experts? I might need to do electricity and central heating inspection, if that is the case, can any of the person who is doing the inspection check solar panel condition and valuation as well?

Thank you.

RobM99

How about - get a quote for the same system new?

2nd_time_buyer

The install cost now would probably be less than £8500 for the same number of panels but 25% more output (technology has moved on a bit).

The FIT goes with the house, if he moved the panels, he would lose the FIT.  It would probably cost him £500-1000 to remove the panels, inverter, wiring, and make good. It would probably cost him in the region of £1500-2000 to get those panels installed on a different property. It just does not make sense,

The panels are permanently installed, if you saw the house with them on. They are included. In the same way you would not expect a seller to threaten to rip out the lighting circuit if you did not pay extra. 

Whichever way you look at it, he is trying it on. I would not pay a penny.

BTW if he does take the panels. I would insist in him paying for roof and electric surveys to ensure it has been done without any damage and it is safe.

zeupater

2017 install with 25year FiT payment ?? ... pretty sure that scheme registrations from August 2012 (?) onwards were based on a reduced 20 years ...

Everything's open to negotiation & ~20years of remaining FiT just became ~15 so the value to yourself as you understood it has just changed ....

HTH - Z

Krakkkers

The panels are worthless to him at another house, he would have to pay to get them installed and would receive NO FIT payments. If installed in 2017 then the FIT is for 20 years not 25.

[Deleted User]

The panels are worthless to him at another house, he would have to pay to get them installed and would receive NO FIT payments. If installed in 2017 then the FIT is for 20 years not 25.

I agree; however, it would seem that a Court has made a legal determination on solar panels:

https://bhwsolicitors.com/news/fixtures-chattels-passes-sale-property/

It comes down to what has been agreed in the Contract of Sale.

2nd_time_buyer

Dolor said:

The panels are worthless to him at another house, he would have to pay to get them installed and would receive NO FIT payments. If installed in 2017 then the FIT is for 20 years not 25.

I agree; however, it would seem that a Court has made a legal determination on solar panels:

https://bhwsolicitors.com/news/fixtures-chattels-passes-sale-property/

It comes down to what has been agreed in the Contract of Sale.

But that article says:

The solar panels, the Court held, were fixtures on the land which passed automatically on the sale. Fixtures are items that are so permanently attached to a property that removing them would cause noticeable damage. The solar panels were deemed fixtures as:

1. They were fixed into a metal frame which was concreted into the land.

1. They were used by the land for electricity, the electricity was not used independently from the land it was for the land’s benefit.

Which would suggest that solar panels are generally regarded as permanent fixtures. Albeit the ones discussed in the article appear to be ground mount. I would imagine the case is even stronger for roof mount. As they are attached to the roof and the wiring is within the house.

Officer_Dibble

My installation quote in March for 4.7kW was £4,400, there's no way he can justify asking £8k for a 6 year old installation.

On the other hand, they'll save you £600 or so a year on your electricity bills, plus any FIT payments that you might get. There might be minimal risk that he'll pay to have them removed, have the roof made good, then reinstalled on a different house, but there could be a significant risk of him pulling out of the sale if you won't give him something towards them. So it depends how much you want the house. As he initially said they weren't included (however illogical that is) and you're now getting something that's of value to you, I'd have thought £2-£2.5k would be a pretty good outcome for both of you.

2nd_time_buyer

Officer_Dibble said:

My installation quote in March for 4.7kW was £4,400, there's no way he can justify asking £8k for a 6 year old installation.

On the other hand, they'll save you £600 or so a year on your electricity bills, plus any FIT payments that you might get. There might be minimal risk that he'll pay to have them removed, have the roof made good, then reinstalled on a different house, but there could be a significant risk of him pulling out of the sale if you won't give him something towards them. So it depends how much you want the house. As he initially said they weren't included (however illogical that is) and you're now getting something that's of value to you, I'd have thought £2-£2.5k would be a pretty good outcome for both of you.

Yes, despite my ranting above, £2-£2.5k seems a reasonable compromise. He would be a bit silly to tune it down.

[Deleted User]

Which would suggest that solar panels are generally regarded as permanent fixtures. Albeit the ones discussed in the article appear to be ground mount. I would imagine the case is even stronger for roof mount. As they are attached to the roof and the wiring is within the house.

The article points out that the best way to avoid this type of dispute is list what is is included in the Contract of Sale. 

I sold a house with solar panels 4 years ago. I had to fill in a form listing what was included in the sale: this included solar panels and an EV charging point. These were put into the Contract.

I don’t accept your point about wiring. The panels etc can be safely removed without the need to remove the wiring.

That said, why anyone would want to do is is beyond my understanding. At best, the panels would only attract SEG if the panel owner could find an installer willing to issue a MCS Certificate. House prices are falling: the seller must know this. Will he/she really pull out of a deal? 

paul991

house prices are dropping like a lead brick ,id threaten to pull out of the sale if panels not totally included including fit rights you have the upper hand.