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Solar inspection when buying a house
The documents and the hardware to check on a home with solar, before the sale closes.
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Written by HyreSolar Research Desk Primary-source research and fact checking
The short answer
When the house you are buying has solar, check two things: the paperwork and the hardware.
The paperwork tells you whether the system is owned, leased or financed, whether a lien is recorded, and whether it was permitted and approved by the utility.
The hardware check confirms it works and the roof beneath it is sound.
Before closing on a solar home
Each means something different for you.
A UCC-1 filing can delay closing.
Unpermitted systems are a problem you inherit.
The paperwork to request
Ask the seller for these before your inspection contingency ends.
Purchase contract, loan or lease agreement.
Any UCC-1 fixture filing; see solar UCC-1 liens.
From the city and the utility.
Product and workmanship, and whether they transfer.
A year of monitoring or bills.
If the system is leased
You will either take over the lease or ask the seller to buy it out. The lease company must approve the transfer, often with a credit check. Read transferring a solar lease and our guide to buying a house with solar.
A pre-purchase solar check
Ownership, permits, PTO, warranties.
For UCC-1 and other liens.
Monitoring or bills against expected output.
Panels, inverter, mounts, roof under array.
Repairs, buyout or credit before closing.
What adds to a pre-purchase inspection
A general home inspector may only look from the ground.
| Factor | Effect on a solar Inspection When Buying a House quote |
|---|---|
| Roof access | Whether the inspector goes up. |
| Electrical testing | Strings and inverter logs. |
| Document review | Some inspectors include it, some do not. |
| System size | More equipment to check. |
| Battery present | Storage adds a second system to check. |
Repair estimates: solar repair costs.
Questions for the seller
Your inquiry
Tell us about your home
Nothing goes to a solar professional unless you agree.
Free, with no obligation: a person reads it and gets back to you. Matching is not live yet, so this is not a quote.
Get Solar Options
If you have done your research and want to speak with a solar professional, HyreSolar can help you explore available options.
Questions
Does a home inspector check solar panels?
Can I refuse to take over a solar lease?
Does solar raise a home’s value?
Written and audited by
HyreSolar Research
Primary-source research, data analysis and fact checking
We are a research desk, not a sales floor. We read the statute, the tariff, the code section, the federal filing or the manufacturer data sheet ourselves, and we publish the figure with the document it came from and the date we retrieved it.
Where a number cannot be traced to a primary source, we publish the shorter page and say what we could not verify. That rule has cost us whole sections, and it is why the rest can be checked.
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Sources & retrieval dates
This page on solar Inspection When Buying a House is general and varies by location, utility tariff, building code, roof and your own circumstances. It is not tax, legal or engineering advice.
HyreSolar is an independent information site: we do not install, finance, service or inspect solar systems, and we do not supervise or warrant anyone who does.