Will Solar Panels Increase My Home’s Value – There are lots of solar companies in the Triangle and many brag about how much more your house will be worth if you add solar panels but is that accurate in the Raleigh, Apex, Hillsborough NC area?
Will Solar Panels Increase My Home’s Value
Will you have a higher home value as soon as the panels are installed?
It is debatable. Real estate appraisers for purchases and refinances can only give additional value to a home with solar panels if enough homes sold in the area also have solar panels installed to give the appraiser an amount of how much more a home with solar panels is worth compared to a similar home without solar power. In 2020 and 2021 we haven’t seen enough homes with panels selling for appraisers to give a significant added home value for having solar panels.
However, if you were to sell your home soon after installing solar panels, and they have been in use and have lowered your electric bill, then that is a benefit that has value to homebuyers. Buyers who see the savings in your bills will be more interested in your home than the home around the corner where the electric bills are substantially higher. It also helps make your home more appealing compared to new construction neighborhoods that advertise the high energy efficiency ratings of their new homes.
Other factors to consider in the overall savings/value of solar panels on a home:
Tax Credits, rebates, and incentives for going solar
Use this site to confirm available options based on your home’s location – https://www.dsireusa.org/ – Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy. Many of these programs give you benefits that offset installation costs in the tax year you have the solar panels installed on your home.
Installation costs
Should they be paid upfront or financed? A homebuyer may be willing to assume your loan for the solar panels if you used a lender specifically for that purpose. Or the buyer may negotiate that you pay the loan off since you’ve received some of the tax credits and incentives for installing the panels. If you paid cash or financed the panels with a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) aka equity line, you will have to factor any value of the panels into the purchase price of the home.
Can you sell solar power back to the electric company where you live?
Check with your local utility whether installing an inverter attached to your meter is an option and exactly how that works – some utility companies give you more credit than others.
Break-even timeframe
It often takes 10 years or more to break even on the installation costs vs the monthly reduction in your electric bill but in the interim, some homeowners use their solar system to cap the maximum bill they will receive to help control monthly household expenses.
Check out this article for more information on the pros and cons of solar panels on your home https://www.investopedia.com/articles/mortgages-real-estate/10/solar-power-home.asp
With over 25-plus-years of experience in the Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill North Carolina areas, Real Estate Broker Amy Shair knows what it takes to get the job done and making the process simple and fun.
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