Posted Monday, February 13, 2017

Adding Solar Before Selling a Home

If you sat down to create a list of all the home improvements you’d like to make to your home before selling it, how far down the list would you go before including ‘add solar panels to the roof’? Would it come in at number two or three, or would it be closer to the bottom at number nine or ten? The fact is that adding solar panels to your home increases property value not just because of the material worth of the solar panels and connected system itself, but also because of the ongoing savings by way of lowered electricity bills. When realtors show a prospective buyer a home that has solar panels installed on it, they’re always sure to draw attention to this important fact as a key selling point.

So the question becomes: “Do I add solar before I sell my home, or do I spend the money on other improvements?” There is no single, easy answer to this question, because many homes may be in dire need of repairs that would be deal breakers for many potential buyers. Examples of such a deal breaker might be a cracked foundation, a mold problem or water damage. In these cases, it clearly makes better financial sense to spend home improvement money on what is going to remediate significant problems. However, if there is money left to spend on improvements to a home (not just repairs or remediations), adding a solar power generation system should be near the top of your list.

This is especially the case if you live in an area where sunlight is plentiful, like Florida. Did you know that the state of Florida ranks 15th in the nation for total installed solar power capacity? This means that Floridians are taking advantage of all the surplus sun they enjoy, and the expectations for home buyers has grown to include solar panels pre-installed on the property. You might wonder how much value solar power equipment adds to your home, in which case it’s worthwhile to discuss costs with a solar installer before investigating real estate value. After all, if a $20,000 investment today could be worth double that to a new homeowner in 20 years, it may make the difference between them buying the home or not.

If you’d like to know more specifically how much it would cost to add solar to your home or business, contact us for a complimentary energy assessment.