Tavares, FL April 21, 2015 Updated Oct. 7, 2017
It seems that large solar panel companies in states like California and Arizona are leasing roof solar panel systems to homeowners without describing the deal will result in a lien against their house. This potential for scams is now growing in Florida starting in 2017.
Update: Oct. 7, 2017 - Florida has passed a law in 2016 that allows private solar panel and roof firms to market products without going through utility firms. This means starting in 2017, Florida residents will get bombarded by many solar roofing and panel scams like reported in other states. They will use enticements like "no money down" to get you to sign questionable leases where the payments could go 20-30 years, much longer than the possible life of solar panels. The leases are really liens on your home, resulting in inability to get other second mortgages, or that you have to PAY OFF the entire financed cost to sell your home if you move.
Note: I plan a more indepth review of Florida solar scams for later in Oct., 2017 since many apparent scams are already springing up. Even cities and counties are being asked to sign up for a program to ADD payments for the "leases" on to your annual property tax bill, which lets the solar company get full payment, and then the County/City is the one enforcing your payments. Additionally, the firm most mentioned in the reports below is SolarCity, which was purchased in Nov., 2016 by Elon Musk of Tesla, and renamed to Tesla Solar. Musk had helped finance the original SolarCity. They opened a Florida office in Orlando and plan to market new solar roof systems, but the sales claims and methods of finance are what should be reviewed by potential buyers.
So read this articles at the links below and learn what can happen.
"This is a SIX part CaliforniaWatchdog.org investigative series focusing on California and Arizona homeowners who choose to lease, rather than buy roof solar panel systems, then get surprised by tiny contract provisions that result in house liens, plus poor quality systems, increasing rates, etc. Examples cover SolarCity and other providers.
It is a terror tale for some homeowners, while large solar panel firms run laughing to the bank with hundreds of millions of dollars in government tax subsidies. "
In 2015, there were so many complaints about solar scams in Arizona that in "December, 2015, Rep. Paul Gosar (R, AZ), a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, along with 11 other House members, sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission warning that the new solar-leasing market industry has engaged in “deceptive marketing strategies” to sucker unsuspecting homeowners into misleading zero-money-down teaser loan deals."
My Opinion - updated Oct. 7, 2017
Will this be a problem in Florida? I don't know, but be warned if someone tries to sell you a leased solar panel roof installation that you should read these articles and the fine print. In early 2017, several puff pieces regarding SolarCity and solar roofs appeared in the Orlando Sentinel and Orlando Business Journal without mentioning scams. Question and verify EVERY single marketing claim. As a former anti-corruption manager and Certified Fraud Examiner, it is my opinion this field is full of scams. If you really believe solar is great, finance it yourself and plan for surprises like promised tax advantages disappearing, rates paid by utilities for power you sell them going down, inability to recover costs if you sell the house because potential buyers don't want to pay a premium for the solar system, etc.
Vance Jochim
FiscalRangers.com
