Ownership
Owned, leased, or nobody knows yet
Ownership type is the first thing to establish and the thing that most often stalls a file. This lays out what transfers, what doesn't, and what to start early.
Pick what applies
Transaction impact summary
Select how the system is held
Primary financial impact
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Before closing
Estimates only, and not an appraisal. This tool does not put a dollar value on the system. The widely-quoted $4-per-watt rule predates current installed costs and the Net Billing Tariff, and an appraiser — not a calculator — establishes what a property is worth. Lease, PPA and loan figures are the terms you enter: confirm the payment, escalator, remaining term, buyout and payoff in writing with the provider or lender, and confirm the transfer requirements with them too.
Four routes, four different closings
The equipment on the roof can be identical. The transaction is not.
Owned
Conveys with the property. The usual surprise is a UCC-1 fixture filing that was never released after the loan was paid off.
Financed
The seller's debt, normally paid off at closing. Escrow needs a written payoff quote, not a statement balance.
Leased
Transfers only if the lessor approves the buyer. That approval has its own timeline and it is frequently the long pole in the deal.
PPA
A contract to buy power, not equipment. The buyer inherits the rate and its annual escalator, subject to the provider approving them.
Where the dollar figure comes from
For an owned or financed system this tool reports an estimated dollar amount that solar adds to a home. It is derived the way the industry standard derives it: $4 per watt of system size, depreciated five percent for each year of age. A 7.8 kW system six years old comes out at about $22,935.
Read it as a starting point, not as an appraisal. The $4-per-watt figure is an installation-cost proxy that predates both the Net Billing Tariff and the current installed-cost environment, and the straight-line depreciation simplifies what the underlying research actually found. It takes no account of the roof, the local market or whether the system is producing. An appraiser establishes value; we establish condition — and condition is what the estimate quietly assumes.
Common questions
The seller says it's paid off. Is that enough?
Not on its own. Ask for the payoff confirmation and check title for a UCC-1 fixture filing — a filing that was never released will surface at closing whether or not the loan was actually paid.
How early should we contact the lessor?
At the start of the inspection period. Lessor transfer packages and buyer credit approval run on the lessor's timeline, not yours, and that is the single most common reason a solar file misses a closing date.
Nobody can find any solar paperwork. What now?
That is routine. An inspection establishes the physical facts (equipment, condition, whether it is producing), and Solar Transaction Support is a separate paid service that helps assemble and interpret the documentation.
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.