Should You Buy a Home With a Solar City Lease?

Installing solar panels might not add value to your home but it will reduce your expenses.

Whether you should buy a home with a Solar City lease is pretty much a no brainer. It’s cheaper than buying a home without a Solar City lease. It’s not as cheap as it would be if you bought the panels outright, either through cash or a loan program. The problem with the loan program, of course, is some unscrupulous salespeople will tell you you don’t have to pay it off when you sell the home but that is a lie. You do. No bank will finance the sale for a new buyer with a lien against it for solar.

The thing that saves some solar power salespeople from prosecution is the fact that if a seller on the purchase plan sells to a buyer who pays all cash, well, yes, that buyer can assume the lien. That’s like a Donald Trump declaration. Partially true, all twisted, and when push comes to shove, you can’t do what is promised.

I’m not saying Solar City salespeople go around making stupid and false statements like this to naive homeowners, but I know other salespeople have done it. Buying solar power is complicated, and many people, agents included, don’t understand it.

They don’t know how the solar company can retain ownership of the solar panels or sell the power generated and swipe all of your tax credits, but the solar company can because this is capitalism at its finest. It’s the way of business in America. There is no free lunch. Everybody has to make a buck. You still get a deal by paying a lower rate, and there is no out-of-pocket expense to obtain the solar. You get to feel good by being Green, even if much of that green is lining a corporate pocket.

There’s nothing wrong with a Solar City lease that I can find. It makes financial sense, it’s a good alternative to buying your own solar panels, which can take years to recoup the cost. And let’s face it, most people don’t have thousands of dollars to invest in solar power.

Of interest on this subject, I’m selling the new homes on Declan Court over by Corti Brothers near East Sacramento, and those are all electric, called SMUD Solar Smart homes. Out of curiosity, I looked at my own SMUD bill, and we use about 900 kWh a month, and my team member, Barbara, uses about 700 kWh. The Weintraub electric bill averages about $125 a month. Add to that the cost from PG&E for heating and cooking, and we easily spend $200 a month. Solar panels would certainly reduce that expense.