Can anyone review/analyze/decipher an IGS Solar lease for me?

Question

I am looking to purchase a property to hold as a STR.  Small 1,000SF house.  House has a 25 year lease with IGS Solar. Ex wife signed the lease. Ex-wife quit claimed the house to husband in the divorce.  Not sure any of that matters, as I'm guessing the title would come back with a lien from the solar company. Is anyone able to take a look at the lease to help me decipher it so I can decide to either move forward or walk away?  Size is 3.4 kW and estimated annual production of 3869 kWh.

Bill B. · Answer

You’d have to post a copy of it. I looked at 6 houses with solar last year. 4 were so bad that I couldn’t buy the house. 1 was kinda bad and one was reasonable.

Important points…

Can you buy the solar system or is it truly just a lease?

Can you buy the lease out early? If so, how much?

Is there an escalation clause where your payments go up every month?

while I was paying Nevada power 11 cents/kw for grid power. I saw solar leases that started at 13 cents and went up every single year for 30 years  the payment was in excess of 70cents/kw at the end  and there was no buy out option during or after the lease

Ps. Almost every payment you see is the discounted $8-$15/mo for automated payments price.

Pps. You want to compare what’s still owed on the system (I wouldn’t buy anything without a stated buyout price every year) vs what a new system would cost you, especially after the 30% rebate. Almost every single buy out is higher than the price of a new system after that rebate. Either the seller or the solar company pocketed that 30%, don’t let them take it out of your pocket.

Audrey C. · Answer

@Bill Brandt I sent you a DM