Mortgages & Estate Agents - What Have you Heard?

SRE · Jan 28, 2014

I've had a slightly concerning telephone message from a customer that we did non- pv work for but who was considering pv. He's an ex-banker and his wife wasn't keen on the look of even the black solar arrays so we haven't lost a job as much as never had it in the first place BUT this is what he told me this afternoon.

I'd encouraged him to research the products, which he did. On the way he discovered some stuff on the Internet about problems with mortgages etc and he decided to ring his mates in the banking industry. They told him there were problems with mortgages and he spoke to an estate agent friend of his who said they were de-valuing homes with pv on because customers didn't want the panels on.

Now this man is not stupid, he used to do live updates on radio when the budget was on (part of the reason he wasn't buying was because he could play the stock exchange with the money and get better returns.) and although my first reaction was that they were talking about the rent a roof mob, I then wondered if anyone else had heard anything similar? I can sort of understand it in leafy Cheshire or Knightsbridge where cash is king and I don't know if that's where his mates are but I can't see if happening anywhere that's "normal"

I've asked him if he would mind clarifying the situation a bit and check it wasn't rent a roof, if he comes back to me I'll post more info.

Anyone heard anything similar

whinmoor · Jan 28, 2014

I think he must be talking about RaR. How could a £5k-£8k investment that pays out a tax-free second income of £500-£900 per year, is protected against inflation, guaranteed by the government and protects the homeowner against the energy price hikes we all know are coming not be desirable?

There have been a few surveys showing solar panels are viewed very positively by purchasers:

The most desirable property 'extras' revealed

Survey reveals that renewable energy is UK?s second favourite investment | Solar Power Portal

SRE · Jan 28, 2014

You're thinking is the same as mine but the first link has solar at the number one for 38% but what about the other 62%? The survey (I haven't read the full blown data) just says that people look on renewables as a great investment. Supporting the use doesn't necessarily mean having it on your own roof it could be in a solar field or on commercial buildings. There's a lot of nimby's out there and I wondered if it was coming from that sort of area.

I do think the same as you

I can just hear him saying the objections above. He's a really nice guy I think he's been given duff info. Mind you that's not unusual is it!

Gavin A · Jan 28, 2014

I'm pretty sure the mortgage issue will largely relate to rent a roof, as long as there are no structural issues / it has a structural engineers report etc. I could see it could cause issues if there were queries about the structural integrity or something.

re the valuation - I think a lot of people have been missing the impact that the aesthetics of a house has on the price of that house. I can well see that there will be a lot of installations out there that will devalue the house purely due to the rubbish aesthetics, and a far few others where the benefits and aesthtic impact will largely set each other off.

It's one of the key arguments we've been using for selling the Viridian roof integrated panels when on the front roofs of houses, and a point we've tried and failed to make to a few customers who insist on making us squeeze every last panel on the front roof against our better judgement.

The Solar King · Jan 29, 2014

The aesthetics issue is going to come along and bite people on the bum with a vengeance. Hopefully the advent of higher output 60 cells panels at realistic prices will help halt some of this. Well planned and well installed systems can look good. Everything needs to start with the roof, not greed.

We are doing our first Easyroof install in the near future - roof integration of standard panels. Will let you know how it all goes.

SolarCity · Jan 29, 2014

We've just won a job which is going to look a bit of a mess to be honest.

I designed a system with 12 panels which looked nice and neat. Customer came back to me and explained that he reckoned he could fit another two panels on if we spun the around and fitted them vertically. I told him it would fit but would look awful.

Phoned us last week to tell us we had lost out to a firm who could fit 16no. 250w SolarWorld panels. After telling him they wouldn't fit, he explained that two of the panels would be fitted on the protruding roof section which faces east. I told him this wouldn't work and advised him to do a bit of research. Came back to me on Monday and told me we've got the job. It is still going to look a mess though.

SolarCity · Jan 29, 2014

View attachment 22526

This is the amended layout showing how the panels will now sit. You can also see the extension roof where the other firm intended to install two panels on a string inverter. They had told the customer that they would be put on a different string and therefore this would be ok. Which begs the question: Were they trying to pull the wool over his eyes or were they simply incompetent? The customer tell us that the company is Green Energy Nationwide.