Guide
The form asks what you have. Most sellers don't know
The C.A.R. Solar Advisory and Questionnaire asks a seller to establish some very specific things about their system. This page explains the kinds of things it asks about — and how to go and find them.
Four things a seller has to be able to establish
How the system is owned
Owned outright, financed, leased, or on a power purchase agreement. This single answer changes almost everything downstream.
What the agreement says
Transfer terms, assumption requirements, buyer credit qualification, payoff figures and any escalator.
What's physically installed
Equipment, age, whether storage is present, and whether it's all working — which is what an inspection establishes.
What the utility arrangement is
Which net metering or billing regime applies, and what the buyer would inherit.
Nobody keeps all of this in a drawer
- Original agreement
- The seller's own files first; then the finance company, lessor or installer.
- Payoff or assumption terms
- The lender or finance company. Generally not the seller, and often slow.
- Permission to Operate
- The utility. Establishes the system was legitimately interconnected.
- Workmanship warranty
- The original installer — assuming they're still trading.
- Monitoring account
- Registered to the seller. Needs a transfer request after closing.
- Actual system condition
- An inspection. This is the part paperwork can't tell you.
Common questions
Can you fill out C.A.R. Form SOLAR for me?
No. The Solar Advisory and Questionnaire is the seller's disclosure. We don't complete disclosures, advise on how to answer them, or decide what's material — that's the seller's responsibility and, where it matters, their attorney's.
Can you tell me what the form says?
We can't reproduce it — it's a copyrighted C.A.R. form available to members through the association. What we can do is explain the kinds of information it asks a seller to establish, so you know what to go and find.
What if I can't answer some of it?
That's extremely common, and it's the usual reason people call us. An inspection establishes the physical facts; Solar Transaction Support helps assemble the paperwork.
Working a weekend transaction? So are we
The office is open Monday–Friday 9am–6pm, but inspections run on weekends and requests are open around the clock. We'll call to confirm the date and time.
Requesting an inspection isn't a confirmed appointment — we'll contact you to confirm timing.