Selling a Home With Owned Solar

You paid for your solar. Before you sell, make sure the people who set your price (buyers, their agents, and the appraiser) can actually see what you're selling.

Request a Solar Home Review · Call or text (631) 413-0494

Home › Sell Your Solar Home on Long Island › Owned Solar

Owned solar can be an asset, if it's documented

When you own your system outright, the equipment conveys with the house. That's the most straightforward solar sale there is. But "owned" and "documented" aren't the same thing.

Here's the problem I see most often. Nobody documented the system, so the appraiser had nothing to work from. The seller paid for something and is about to hand it over without it being presented. There's no argument and no line item. The system just never gets put in front of the people setting the price.

I can't tell you what your system is worth, and nobody should promise you a number. What I can do is make sure your system is documented, disclosed, and presented, so buyers can weigh it and the appraiser has real information to analyze.

First: are you sure it's fully owned?

Many Long Island homeowners say "we own it" when what they mean is "we're paying it off." Both count as owned, but they sell differently.

Who owns the equipment: Owned, paid in full: You. Owned with a solar loan: You, subject to the lender's security interest.
What conveys at closing: Owned, paid in full: The equipment, free and clear. Owned with a solar loan: The equipment, plus a loan to resolve and possibly a public filing.
What we need early: Owned, paid in full: Documentation (below). Owned with a solar loan: Documentation plus a written payoff quote and the servicer's home-sale instructions.

If you have a solar loan, also read Selling a Home With a Solar Loan. Some solar-loan servicers don't allow a buyer to take over the loan, so it's paid off at closing and any filing on the public record is released.

Even if it's paid off, check for a leftover filing. A UCC-1 filing can stay on the public record after a loan is satisfied unless someone records a termination. Personal-property filings and fixture filings are recorded in different offices, and a search of one won't find the other. We check both before you list.

The owned-solar listing file: what to gather before you list

This is the file I build with every owned-solar seller. It goes to the appraiser, gets attached to the listing, and goes to the buyer's inspector.

Proof of ownership: your purchase contract, paid-in-full confirmation, or loan payoff letter
Search results for any UCC filings, from both offices, plus a copy of any filing and its termination
12 months of production data from your monitoring app or portal
12 months of PSEG Long Island electric bills
Equipment details: panel and inverter make and model, and the installation date
Warranty documents, with the name of the company that honors each one
A completed Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum, given to the appraiser and the inspector and attached to the listing and the contract

Then, in the listing itself, the energy features go in the first lines of the public remarks, not buried in private remarks.

Documentation supports the appraiser's analysis. It never states a value. That's the line I hold, and it protects you.

Warranties: three documents, often three different companies

Buyers will ask, "What's covered?" The answer is usually more complicated than "it's under warranty."

Equipment (panels, inverters, batteries): Who usually stands behind it: The manufacturer. Survives if the installer goes out of business?: Generally yes. It's claimed directly with the manufacturer.
Workmanship and roof penetrations: Who usually stands behind it: The installer. Survives if the installer goes out of business?: Generally no.
Roof damage from the installation: Who usually stands behind it: The installer. Survives if the installer goes out of business?: Generally no.

Long Island example: EmPower Solar of Island Park posted a notice dated March 30, 2026 saying it is no longer conducting business operations. Per that notice, manufacturer warranties remain valid, but EmPower's own workmanship warranties are no longer being honored. If EmPower or another closed company installed your system, we document what actually remains. → When your solar installer is gone

We never describe a warranty to a buyer as "honored" unless the company behind it is actually standing behind it.

The roof under the array

The two main national home-inspection standards (ASHI and InterNACHI) don't require inspectors to inspect solar systems, and ASHI's standard doesn't require the inspector to walk on the roof. Your buyer's inspection may come back "clean" without anyone looking at the roof surface under your panels.

You can get ahead of that by gathering installation permits and any service records, and by being upfront about the roof's age and condition. If a buyer wants a solar-specific inspection, it should be arranged early, with the scope confirmed in writing.

What carries over under PSEG Long Island

New York's utility compensation for rooftop solar is designed so that it doesn't change just because the home changes hands. That's the New York Public Service Commission's 2017 VDER Transition Order, and PSEG Long Island's tariff implements it. A buyer who becomes the new customer at your address generally steps into the remaining term.

Two details are worth knowing:

Systems interconnected before January 1, 2022 carry no Customer Benefit Contribution (CBC) charge, and that exemption follows the equipment to the buyer. If that applies to your system, buyers should know it.
Banked credits at sale: PSEG Long Island hasn't published how a seller's banked net-metering credits are handled at a sale (for post-2018 enrollments). Ask PSEG Long Island directly before you set a closing date. Don't assume either way.

→ PSEG Long Island solar: what follows the house

Questions about tax credits, incentives you received, or tax treatment at sale belong with your CPA.

How I help owned-solar sellers

Solar Home Review: confirm ownership from your documents, check for filings, and identify the warranties and who stands behind each one
Build your listing-side solar file (the seven items above)
Present the system accurately in the listing and in buyer conversations, documented and never exaggerated
Give the appraiser and inspector the file before their visits
Coordinate any payoff and filing termination with your attorney and the title company if there's a loan

I've worked in solar since August 23, 2010, and I teach real estate professionals how to handle exactly these transactions. I'm not an appraiser, attorney, or CPA, and I'll always tell you which questions belong to them.

Backed by Team Paley, Keller Williams Points North

I list and sell homes as part of Team Paley, Keller Williams Points North, based in Woodbury. The team's marketing, operations, and transaction staff work behind my solar listings. My job is the solar side of the file. Here are the team's figures as it publishes them on teampaley.com:

21+ Years Experience · 4,000+ Properties Sold · $563M+ In Sold Homes · 4,000+ Happy Clients

Figures as stated at teampaley.com, checked October 13, 2026. They describe Team Paley as a whole, not my individual sales. The site gives no as-of date, time period, or data source for them. Past results don't guarantee any future result.

Team Paley, Keller Williams Points North, Woodbury, New York. Each office independently owned and operated.

Frequently asked questions

Will owned solar panels increase my home's sale price?

Nobody can promise that, and I won't. Owned equipment conveys with the house, and buyers can weigh it. In an appraisal, the appraiser decides whether and how to account for it. What you control is the documentation: production history, bills, equipment details, warranties, and a completed Green and Energy Efficient Addendum give the appraiser real information to analyze.

Why would an appraiser give my solar no value?

Often it's because there was nothing to work from. There were no production records, no equipment documentation, and no addendum. If the system is financed and a filing treats the panels as personal property, lender guidelines may also affect how it's treated. Building the file before you list addresses the part you can control.

My solar loan is paid off. Is there anything left to do?

Check the public record. A UCC filing can stay on the record after a loan is satisfied unless a termination is filed. Search both the personal-property and the fixture filing offices, and keep a copy of any termination for the title company.

Does a home inspection cover my solar panels?

Usually not. The ASHI and InterNACHI standards both exclude solar systems in writing, and ASHI doesn't require walking on the roof. If a buyer wants the array and the roof under it looked at, a solar-specific inspection should be arranged with the scope confirmed in writing.

Does my PSEG Long Island solar compensation transfer to the buyer?

Under New York's VDER framework, compensation is designed not to change because of a change in ownership, and PSEG Long Island's tariff implements that. The buyer generally steps into the remaining term as the new customer at the address. How banked credits are treated at a sale hasn't been published for post-2018 PSEG Long Island enrollments, so confirm that with PSEG Long Island directly.

My installer went out of business. Does that hurt my sale?

It changes what you can tell a buyer about warranties, not your ability to sell. Manufacturer equipment warranties are generally claimed directly with the manufacturer. Installer workmanship and roof-penetration warranties generally end with the installer. We document exactly what remains.

What about the tax credit I claimed when I bought the system?

That's a question for your CPA. I don't give tax advice.

Request a Solar Home Review

Own your solar and thinking about selling on Long Island? Let's build your solar file before you list.

Call or text: (631) 413-0494 · Email: hello@christinaeducation.com

← Back to Sell Your Solar Home on Long Island · Leased solar or a PPA?

Educational content only. Not legal, tax, financial, or appraisal advice. Consult a qualified attorney, CPA, or licensed appraiser in New York about your situation. No sale price, appraised value, sale timeline, or outcome is promised or guaranteed. Utility and company information reflects publicly available sources checked August–October 2026 and can change.

Christina Mathieson Segura, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, New York State. Team Paley, Keller Williams Points North, Woodbury, New York. Each office independently owned and operated.