How To Appraise A Home With Large Solar Panels

Solar energy is supposed to be cheaper cleaner and greener than electricity purchased from a utility but when many people think of solar they picture large unattractive panels on rooftops so i decided to engage in a fact finding mission.

How to appraise a home with large solar panels.

According to green energy marketplace energysage the average home solar system costs 18 300 before tax credits and 12 810 after tax credits in 2019. We re going to take a deep dive into the pv value solar appraisal tool and how it is being used to appraise a rooftop solar system today. When appraisers or real estate agents list a home on the market with solar they ll often just indicate that the home has solar panels. The basis of the report is how to value the appraised property with solar panels when no comps have them using paired sale analysis.

After all they save homeowners a ton of money right. The appraiser emphasized that solar panels are a new arena for appraisers the issue simply hasn t been around long enough for there to be a consensus on how to value the addition of the panels. Whether the solar panels are leased and owned also may affect the appraisal. Historically the perspective on solar panels from many buyers and appraisers was that the return on investment along with the perceived negative aesthetic impact of large roof panels made solar panels a poor investment.

Says real estate agent aaron zapata of inman according to fha and fannie mae whether solar panels add value or are viewed as a liability is still unclear. To get any details like the kilowatt hours or age of the system appraisers have to call the installers themselves. Solar panels are one of those tricky things we all like to believe increase the value of a home. It can potentially increase the home s value by up to 4 1 more than comparable homes with no solar panels.

Solar panels that generate all or part of a home s electricity could become a new norm and valuation experts need to prepare. But it does cover a big chunk of the cost of buying and installing home solar panels. Solar panels and green homes are becoming increasingly more common in the marketplace. If you ve seen a rise in solar panels in your area consider taking the first step toward competency in the valuation of this energy efficient feature of real estate.

Many appraisers are taking the position that there is no. By the way solar pv means solar photo voltaic. This panels are designed to convert sunshine or even cloudy daylight into usable electrical energy.