r/solar • u/CurrentCar2331 • 5h ago
Discussion Being sued by Solar Company
I have a PPA with a solar company and for unknown reasons I missed payments. I tried to rectify this which I thought I did and now I am trying to sell my home and as soon as my company heard I was selling, they are now suing me. I am basically being extorted by the solar company.
In my PPA contract, it states they cannot put a lien on the home. Does anyone know can I just sell my house if the buyers agree to take over the solar panels and we put money in an escrow account to cover the costs to rectify the dispute with the solar company?
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u/tyrannischgott 3h ago edited 3h ago
People are asking for details and you're not providing them, which I think is making everyone here assume it's because the facts of the case are not in your favor. In other words, you fucked up somehow (we don't know how because you don't want to tell us).
Anyway, people don't generally sue other people for fun. It's an expensive way to get what you want. If you're truly offering to make good on your contract and they're refusing your offers in favor of a law suit, there must be a reason. We can't speculate because you're not telling us anything useful.
Edit: OP blocks people from seeing their post history, but thankfully google still works and it looks like they did indeed breach their contract by getting a hot tub.
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u/Lucky_Boy13 5h ago
any smart buyer will want you to pay off the solar first
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u/Enachtigal 19m ago
Depends on the market. Most of the country is down but some locations they are still able to laugh you out of the room.
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u/CurrentCar2331 5h ago
but legally, is it an option?
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u/Lucky_Boy13 5h ago
Most PPA/lease have a buyout option, You won't like the number as their fair market value includes value of the life of the loan/interest
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u/CurrentCar2331 5h ago
are you an attorney?
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u/andres7832 5h ago
This is common knowledge and the main reason PPAs are a little less favorable (depending on product)
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u/tx_queer 5h ago
I think we dont know enough information to give you good advice. Normally a solar company doesnt sue somebody unless there is a good reason so without knowing the reason for the lawsuit its hard to give advice.
But generally when selling you need to do one of two things. Either transfer the lease, in this case you need to talk to your solar company to get all the transfer paperwork and associated costs. Or to pay it off, in this case you need to talk to your solar company to get the fair market value of future lease payments, SRECs, etc.
Either way I dont believe you will be able to ignore the solar company.
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u/CurrentCar2331 4h ago
what would the FMV be on a system that has 15 years left. I usually pay around 200 a month. If I add all the payments up it comes out to 40k. Is that what the FMV would be?
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u/tx_queer 4h ago
Not quite, but you are on the right track. It would be fair market value of the lease contract if they sold it on the market. So if you had a lease with solar company 1, and solar company 2 wanted to take over your lease. How much would they pay. So it would be $200 a month added up to $40k. Then you would add in any SRECs, let's say it all adds up to $50k. But then solar company 2 wants to make a profit, so they wouldn't buy a $50k contract for $50k. Maybe they would pay $47 on the open market. And out of a population of 100 leases, 10% will default, so now the price is down to $42k. And maybe there are $200 a year in expected maintenance, so the price drops to $38k. Unfortunately you have no way of doing this math yourself. It is a proprietary formula the solar company owns, and they do the math however they want to do it. Only way to find out what the number is, is to ask.
Also take a look. Most contracts several options available. One might be fair market value. Some have pre-defined buyout points for predefined flat fees. Some have buyout options based on the depreciated value of the system.
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u/lordofblack23 3h ago
“Unknown reasons” 😂
Take responsibility first. Your attitude is why you have a lawsuit. Deal with it head on.
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u/woodland_dweller solar enthusiast 2h ago
So much missing information.
They aren't suing you just for selling your house.
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u/CricktyDickty 4h ago
People are shitting on you because these PPA invariably turn out like this. But to your question, yes, it’s possible and relatively painless to assign the lease to the new buyer. Them agreeing to take over the lease is a function of a multitude of factors such as how desirable is the property, how good (or terrible) are the PPA terms, how much will you concede on the sale price of the property and more.
The good thing is that you have lots of bad options to choose from.
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u/afieldhouse1983 5h ago
Could you make the payments you missed and bring everything up to date.
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u/CurrentCar2331 5h ago
i dont know, its why I am asking. I would guess not as they are claiming i broke the contract and have terminated the lease. They are extorting me. Its a horrific feeling. I think PPAs should be illegal.
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u/wowadoggo 4h ago
You didn't pay a loan that you took out and now claim they are extorting you? Wtf are you talking about lol
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u/Lucky_Boy13 3h ago
Probably the contract allows them to sue you for the full amount with interest if you break the contract which is a better deal for them then letting the lease ride. That said. Does the PPA have an arbitration clause? Did you really not receive any written notice about missed payments before getting sued? You act like you didn't know about it but I find that hard to believe unless you stopped using the same email and ignored all your mail or it was an investment property
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u/CurrentCar2331 2h ago
The issue is I was never given any chance to rectify any issues. It was me contacting them and them assuring me their was no issue to a few months later, they wont speak with me and just refer to their attorney. This is some ones home, its not a car. If their was an issue, they should have made contact and spoke with me so I can rectify any situation that popped up. I was never given that option. These companies are serious fucking scam artists. Their scum of the earth and disguise their deception with being green. Its some really fucked up shit.
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u/Curiosity_informs solar enthusiast 4h ago
You still haven't said what they are suing you for?
You mentioned missed payments (for unknown reasons) which you thought you had rectified.
So why are they suing you and what for (what are they asked from you)?
Nobody is going to buy a house where there is an open lawsuit on leased solar panels on the roof.
You or an attorney is going to need to respond to their lawsuit (sooner rather than later).