Sell your home with solar panels without the lease, the lender, or the title company slowing you down.

Start by identifying which of three arrangements you have: owned outright, financed with a solar loan, or leased / power-purchase agreement. Then request written payoff figures from the solar company before you price the house: the lease prepayment amount and the system purchase amount, which are different numbers. Build your seller net sheet three ways (buyer assumes the lease, you prepay, you buy the system). Pull twelve months of power bills to use as marketing. Once under contract, send the solar agreement and payoff quote to the title company the same day and open the transfer request with the solar company. Ryan Solberg at MaxLife Realty closed a leased Sunrun-and-Powerwall home in Dr. Phillips in October 2026 using exactly this process.

Owned panels do not. Leased panels add one extra party to the transaction and a monthly payment that counts against the buyer's debt-to-income ratio, which narrows the buyer pool slightly and can show up as a lower offer. On a 2026 Dr. Phillips sale, a $183 monthly Sunrun payment reduced the buyer's borrowing power by roughly $28,000. The remedy is pricing with that in mind, marketing the real power-bill savings, and having the transfer paperwork ready so the lease never delays closing.

Get both quotes in writing and compare. On a Sunrun lease signed in 2025, the full prepayment was $43,052 while the outright system purchase was $35,857. Prepaying left Sunrun owning the equipment; purchasing conveyed the panels to the buyer free and clear. Buying was cheaper and better in that case, but every agreement differs, and quotes are usually valid for only 30 days. Many lease agreements require you to purchase the system if no buyer will assume it, so the purchase number matters even if you expect a transfer.

Yes, if they qualify with the solar company. Sunrun, for example, accepts a 650 FICO score, or proof of mortgage approval or a cash purchase, or a $250 credit-check exemption fee. The buyer signs a service transfer agreement at or before closing. Open the transfer request the day you go under contract rather than the week of closing; the solar company's transfer team moves on its own schedule.

Two ways. The monthly lease payment is counted as debt in the buyer's debt-to-income ratio. And Fannie Mae's Selling Guide section B2-3 requires that the home stay connected to the utility grid and that the solar company is not named as loss payee on the homeowner's insurance policy. A standard lease meets both rules, but the underwriter will want to read the agreement, so have a clean PDF ready on day one. Ryan is a licensed mortgage loan originator as well as a broker and reviews the agreement against these rules before listing.

Whatever the contract and addendum say. In a Florida AS IS contract the solar payoff is written into an addendum, and the title company pays the solar company from the seller's proceeds at closing, the same way it pays off a mortgage. The seller is responsible for getting the solar company's payoff letter and transfer documents to the title company well before closing. Title companies handle mortgage payoffs routinely; a solar buyout is not routine, and they will not chase it unless it is handed to them.

Owned systems generally add value within reason, because the buyer gets lower bills with no payment attached. Leased systems usually do not add appraised value and can subtract from the offer because of the inherited payment. Central Florida appraisers rarely give meaningful credit for leased systems. The practical value of solar in a sale is the documented power-bill savings and, with a battery, backup power during hurricane season.

Each is handled as either a fixture that conveys with the house or personal property that does not, and the listing and contract should say which. Batteries and hardwired EV chargers are fixtures and are strong selling points in Florida; include the manufacturer warranty transfer. Whole-house generators convey and should be serviced before listing. Smart locks, thermostats, cameras and hubs convey unless excluded, and you should factory-reset and hand over credentials at closing. Ryan inventories every system before listing so nothing is argued about at the walk-through.

Exactly what happens to it. If the buyer is expected to assume the lease, say so and state the payment. If you will buy the system out, say so and say whether that is at any price or only at full price. Vague wording such as 'paid off under certain terms' invites buyers to assume the worst and price it in. Clear wording lets them price in the power-bill savings instead.

If you financed the system with a solar loan, the lender often records a UCC-1 fixture filing against the property, and PACE-financed systems ride on the property tax bill as an assessment. Both must be paid off or formally subordinated at closing, like a second mortgage. Leased systems normally carry no lien, but a title search should confirm it. Ryan orders that search before listing so the answer is known before an offer arrives.