Remove solar lien after trustee sale
Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 2 votes
Remove solar lien after trustee sale
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A few things. UCCs expire in 5 years... not sure where you are on that timetable. Further, a UCC would be a specific exception to the lender's title policy but would not affect the priority of the new mortgage. With a new owner you could -- if you talked to anyone intelligent at Solar Mosaic -- have the current UCC released and then refiled after closing.
Gimer Law516 Reviews
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UCCs are not liens against the real estate. Accordingly, the end buyer should have no problem obtaining financing strictly due to the solar issue... heck they may even want to work with Solar Mosaic.
Last time this came up the consensus was removal/repair is the worst direction to go.
Gimer Law516 Reviews- Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 2 votes7y
Thank you for the response Tom. Ultimately it would be nice to give the buyer the option, but I ran it past my loan broker and he said he couldn't finance it unless the filing was removed. Maybe there are other lenders that will. I agree that the UCC is only a fixture filing, but lenders here in CA can be really conservative. I'll check with some direct lenders and provide an update.
A few things. UCCs expire in 5 years... not sure where you are on that timetable. Further, a UCC would be a specific exception to the lender's title policy but would not affect the priority of the new mortgage. With a new owner you could -- if you talked to anyone intelligent at Solar Mosaic -- have the current UCC released and then refiled after closing.
Gimer Law516 Reviews@Mike Jones what Tom is suggesting (to have the UCC released and refiled) is the way these things are typically handled such as during a transfer or refi. Most leasing companies operating in this space are familiar with the process and handle it efficiently for the most part. The problem seems to be getting in touch with the right person at Mosaic. I’ve never worked with them so unfortunately I don’t have a contact for you there. I can tell you that their involvement is on the financing side only, as they work with local installer partners on the back end with the installer managing the customer relationship so Mosaic wouldn’t typically interact with the customer directly which might explain the gap in the line of communication. I recommend finding out who installed the system and contacting them. The installer hopefully has a better handle on customer service and can act as a liaison and get you through to the right person at Mosaic who can release the UCC for you. If you don’t know who installed it there are several ways to find out. You can check the documentation, permit info, warranty etc. or often there is an owner’s manual inside the home and also a plaque on or near the inverter or one of the switch boxes with the company name and contact info. Hopefully if you get in touch with the installer they will help you sort things out. It should be a simple process to release the UCC. Good luck! Steve
- Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 2 votes7y
Thank you Steve and Tom. Viviant was the installer and they monitor the system. It appears they've remotely shut down the panels as they haven't been producing for the last month. Viviant has assigned a case number with their foreclosure department, although I wonder how involved they'll get since they were paid and Mosaic is who filed the UCC. Hopefully they can assist as you suggested Steve....or at least put me in touch with someone at Mosaic who has a higher level of authority to get this resolved. It's a large 10.36kw system to the tune of $45k on a 1200 sq ft house. I doubt many buyers out there that are going to want to assume that loan. I'm making calls to lenders to see if they'll issue a mortgage with the UCC filing in place. I'm hoping the foreclosure will satisfy an underwriter.
- Member since 2019 · 1 post · 1 vote7y
Hey Mike,
I am having the same issue with Solar Mosaic. I hired a law firm, filled a bbb claim and my local news is inquiring about the issues with this company. Please lets touch base.
Thanks,
- San Diego , CA · Member since 2017 · 22 posts · 3 votes6y
Solar Mosaic is doing the same thing to me, I can't close with my buyer. They are refusing to removal the solar. Has anyone had a solution to this issue?
I'm dealing with this issue as well, but it is with Sunstreet Solar. The options they gave us were 1) leave the panels in place but get no benefit and do no harm to them 2) purchase the panels (we were quoted the full retail price which is ridiculous) 3) sign a new agreement IF AND WHEN we wanted to. That all sounded fine really so we put them in touch with our buyers so they could explain those options to them as well. They took that opportunity to scare them in the hopes that we or they would pay them something for their equipment. They lied to the buyers and told them they would be responsible for paying the lien or they would have to sign an agreement with Sunstreet at close of escrow. The attorney is actually a debt collector so you can imagine his demeanor and ethics.
Now the buyer and I want their equipment removed and have sent a certified letter stating so. Their attorney is claiming they do not have to remove the panels. We will see what their response is once they receive my request for removal.I am a little surprised this hasn't been fully settled by the courts at this point. It seems very clear to me. They have a UCC that shows they still own the panels, however, we do not have an agreement with them and are not in default in any way. Their property is on our home and we want them to come and collect it or it will have been adandoned and we will petition to have the UCC removed. Seems cut and dry. We are willing to see this all the way through and get this settled. I'm not sure why they think they are special and get to play by different rules. If you leave your property on my property and I ask that you come and get it but you refuse then you are forfeiting your right to that property. If my buyers walk then I will be forced to sue them for any monetary damages that will cause as well. I just don't see how this ends well for them.
If anyone has an update to how this went for them please share that!
- Member since 2021 · 1 post · 0 votes5y
Has anyone on this thread had any luck with solar mosaic? We aren't in the exact same situation, but they took advantage of my hearing impared disabled husband and we cannot get this resolved. No one at Mosaic would even return calls. This is going on over 2 years now and they don't even send anything in the mail. We even tried to settle and they countered with a ridicouls offer. We need to get this taken care of ASAP! Any direction that you could point us in would be helpful!
HI Laura,
I'm sorry you are dealing with a solar lease situation. No, I don't have experience with Solar Mosiac, however, most of these solar companies operate in a similar way. It seems to me that the minute the government got involved these solar companies started acting like they were protected and did not need to give any customer service.
My situation did not really end well for either party. We had to hire an attorney and racked up legal fees that amounted to what the solar system was worth in the first place. We ended up not paying anything to the solar company but spent just as much.
Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot of legal precedent out there for these solar lease situations and the solar companies are banking on that because they know most homeowners cannot afford to take them to court and sue them. You didn't give much detail in your post about your situation but the only way we got through to them was to hire an attorney. The attorney's name who worked for the solar company was James MaCleod. If anyone reading this comes up against him send me a message and I might be able to help.
Maybe if you share some more information about your situation you might get some more detailed advice. Hope you find a solution.
- Member since 2024 · 1 post · 0 votes2y
I'm currently going through this. Selling our house and solar mosaic put a lien on solar( $40,000 solar that never worked) and charged off to collections. I'm not sure what to do at this time. By the way I'm in Texas HELP!!!!!
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