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FYI, this has nothing to do with solar panels and everything to do with a buying a house that has stuff with transferable contracts. Save up and buy your solar

FYI, this has nothing to do with solar panels and everything to do with a buying a house that has stuff with transferable contracts. Save up and buy your solar outright, companies don't lease things to you unless there is profit in it.

annonch 8y ago
You are paying more but also receive a maintenance service which may or may not save you money and time. Similar to insurance.
CydeWeys 8y ago
It has to do with solar panels to the extent that there's very little else that anyone would put on their house that uses a transferable contract. Solar panels are the most common instance in which anyone would run into this situation. I'm struggling to think of anything else, actually.
- giarc 8y ago
  When we toured our home, the water softener system said rental on it. We inquired and the home owner confirmed the unit was purchased out right. So water softener systems is another potential example.
  - seanalltogether 8y ago
    A water well was the first thing I thought of as a possible transferable lease, I could see septic systems possibly being leased too. Edit- Some houses are also still heated by oil that has to be delivered on a routine basis and I could see that having a lease as well.
    - astura 8y ago
      How do you lease oil delivery? Or do you mean the tank itself? If you have an agreement for an oil company to come fill your oil when it gets low, you just terminate your agreement when you sell your house.
      - seanalltogether 8y ago
        Tank installation + piping + maintenance + exclusive oil supplier, all wrapped up in a 10 year contract attached to the property. I'm not saying there are companies that do that, but I could see it being a possible business model.
        astura 8y ago
        Oil tanks + installation are cheap enough I'm not sure it would make financial sense for this to be a business model (we were quoted a ballpark figure of $1,500 to replace ours). Oil tanks require no maintenance whatsoever, just replacement every 15-30 years. I have an agreement from a company that they deliver oil automatically when I need it, but I don't pay anything extra vs just calling them for a one time delivery and I can terminate the agreement at any time.
- throwaway5752 8y ago
  When I wrote that, I was thinking outside of capital goods and including things like land use contracts, mineral/water rights, and perhaps other things in cases like condos.
- lazerpants 8y ago
  Cell phone towers, possibly?
- duskwuff 8y ago
  > Solar panels are the most common instance in which anyone would run into this situation. I'm struggling to think of anything else, actually. Furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, and water softeners are all often installed on contract.
  - astura 8y ago
    They are? First I've ever heard of it. I just got a new furnance and some sort of contract wasn't even offered to me as an option.
    - duskwuff 8y ago
      These contracts aren't available through the same channels that you'd purchase equipment through. They're often offered to low-income homeowners, or sold by (shady, IMO) repair workers. Many home equipment leases are abusive in nature -- they're deliberately made hard to cancel, with many leasors attaching extortionate "equipment removal" fees to cancellation.
      - astura 8y ago
        Oh, okay. I guess I'm just not familiar with them because I never sought them out. I was assuming if they were common the installer would say "here's the quote for installation and here's the quote for leasing"
timcederman 8y ago
A transferable contract locked in for years for a system sized for someone with higher than average energy usage. This seems like an outlier in things to consider for buying a house with solar.

annonch 8y ago

You are paying more but also receive a maintenance service which may or may not save you money and time. Similar to insurance.

CydeWeys 8y ago

It has to do with solar panels to the extent that there's very little else that anyone would put on their house that uses a transferable contract. Solar panels are the most common instance in which anyone would run into this situation. I'm struggling to think of anything else, actually.

giarc 8y ago
When we toured our home, the water softener system said rental on it. We inquired and the home owner confirmed the unit was purchased out right. So water softener systems is another potential example.
- seanalltogether 8y ago
  A water well was the first thing I thought of as a possible transferable lease, I could see septic systems possibly being leased too. Edit- Some houses are also still heated by oil that has to be delivered on a routine basis and I could see that having a lease as well.
  - astura 8y ago
    How do you lease oil delivery? Or do you mean the tank itself? If you have an agreement for an oil company to come fill your oil when it gets low, you just terminate your agreement when you sell your house.
    - seanalltogether 8y ago
      Tank installation + piping + maintenance + exclusive oil supplier, all wrapped up in a 10 year contract attached to the property. I'm not saying there are companies that do that, but I could see it being a possible business model.
      - astura 8y ago
        Oil tanks + installation are cheap enough I'm not sure it would make financial sense for this to be a business model (we were quoted a ballpark figure of $1,500 to replace ours). Oil tanks require no maintenance whatsoever, just replacement every 15-30 years. I have an agreement from a company that they deliver oil automatically when I need it, but I don't pay anything extra vs just calling them for a one time delivery and I can terminate the agreement at any time.
throwaway5752 8y ago
When I wrote that, I was thinking outside of capital goods and including things like land use contracts, mineral/water rights, and perhaps other things in cases like condos.
lazerpants 8y ago
Cell phone towers, possibly?
duskwuff 8y ago
> Solar panels are the most common instance in which anyone would run into this situation. I'm struggling to think of anything else, actually. Furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, and water softeners are all often installed on contract.
- astura 8y ago
  They are? First I've ever heard of it. I just got a new furnance and some sort of contract wasn't even offered to me as an option.
  - duskwuff 8y ago
    These contracts aren't available through the same channels that you'd purchase equipment through. They're often offered to low-income homeowners, or sold by (shady, IMO) repair workers. Many home equipment leases are abusive in nature -- they're deliberately made hard to cancel, with many leasors attaching extortionate "equipment removal" fees to cancellation.
    - astura 8y ago
      Oh, okay. I guess I'm just not familiar with them because I never sought them out. I was assuming if they were common the installer would say "here's the quote for installation and here's the quote for leasing"

timcederman 8y ago

A transferable contract locked in for years for a system sized for someone with higher than average energy usage. This seems like an outlier in things to consider for buying a house with solar.