At first, I don't think the business model was there yet. I haven't read a recent report so I know it is out of date, but on the order of half the costs were in

At first, I don't think the business model was there yet. I haven't read a recent report so I know it is out of date, but on the order of half the costs were installation. If the company maintaining a contract on your roof goes out of business? Who owns the panels? Who funds a company where if it goes bankrupt they have contacts that give away their remaining assets? Now that property owners understand it better I think there's less hesitation and I have seen it more. We're even getting some on our building before long. But there's also the issue of trust, which is coupled with ownership. If your friend convinces you to borrow $5k as a homeowner line of credit, install panels (and own them) and that you will make it back in lower bills in a few years that's a lot easier to swallow than someone that makes money from you saying yes. I wouldn't want strangers owning stuff that might get passed along to different strangers as a major structural component in my house, cost to maintain, and especially if I don't even own the power produced. I can't fix my roof, I can't replace the panels, it seems like a very tough sell without a track record. I don't think anyplace had that track record five years ago.