Christina Mathieson Segura | Real Estate Education

Most REALTORS® don’t wake up intending to put their clients—or their licenses—at risk.

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When solar creates problems in a transaction, it’s almost never because an agent acted in bad faith. It happens because solar lives in a gray space that most real estate education never addressed, yet the Code of Ethics still applies.

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That disconnect is where ethical exposure begins.

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The Problem Isn’t Solar. It’s Competence.

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The National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics doesn’t require agents to be solar experts. What it does require is something far more important: competence, or the willingness to seek it.

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Article 11 of the Code of Ethics is clear. When REALTORS® engage in a transaction, they are obligated to provide services that meet the standard of competence reasonably expected in that discipline—or to obtain assistance from someone who is competent, or disclose their lack of expertise.

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Solar challenges that obligation because it touches multiple parts of a transaction at once:

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• valuation,

• financing,

• title,

• disclosures, and

• long-term buyer obligations.

 

Yet many agents proceed as if solar will “sort itself out” at closing.

That assumption is where risk lives.

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When Lack of Knowledge Becomes an Ethical Issue

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Solar systems are not cosmetic features.

 

Ownership structure alone—owned versus leased or subject to a power purchase agreement—can materially affect:

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• a buyer’s monthly costs,

• mortgage qualification,

• appraised value, and

• whether a closing happens on time at all.

 

When an agent doesn’t understand those differences and fails to:

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• ask the right questions,

• gather the right documents, or

• bring in competent assistance early,

 

They may unintentionally misrepresent or fail to disclose a material fact—not because they meant to, but because they didn’t know what they were looking at.

Ethically, intent doesn’t eliminate responsibility.

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Article 11 doesn’t excuse ignorance. It requires recognition of limits.

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The Silent Violation Most Agents Don’t Realize They’re Making

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One of the most common ethical missteps I see isn’t saying the wrong thing—it’s saying nothing.

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Agents often know solar is present but avoid deep discussion because it feels technical, uncomfortable, or outside their lane. They assume attorneys, lenders, or title companies will handle it later.

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But proceeding without disclosure of limited competence is not neutral.
It’s a decision.

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Under Article 11, REALTORS® are expected to either:

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• gain sufficient understanding to participate competently, or

• clearly disclose their lack of expertise and involve someone who has it.

 

Failing to do either creates exposure—not just to the transaction, but to the agent.

 

Risk Prevention Is the Point

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This is where targeted education changes outcomes.

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Education doesn’t turn agents into solar installers. It teaches them:

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• when solar is a material fact,

• what questions must be asked early,

• what documentation affects financing and title, and

• when professional escalation is required.

 

That knowledge protects:

• the buyer, from unexpected obligations,

• the seller, from delayed or failed closings, and

• the agent, from ethical and legal fallout.

 

Risk prevention isn’t about doing more.
It’s about knowing where the risks actually are.

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Why This Matters Now

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Solar adoption is increasing nationally.

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That means more transactions where solar is present—whether agents feel prepared or not.  As that presence becomes more common, the standard of “reasonable competence” rises with it.

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Article 11 doesn’t change.
The environment does.

The ethical risk isn’t solar itself.

The risk is participating in solar-involved transactions without understanding where your competence ends—and failing to address that gap before it harms someone.

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Education is how that risk is reduced.