Want to make your home easier to sell? Don’t install a solar system in Phoenix. As an real estate agent, I am often asked by homeowners who are considering adding a solar system whether or not it will have any impact on their home value. Most are surprised to hear me say, in the absolute best case scenario it will not hurt your home’s value and in most cases it will be a negative to future buyers considering your home for purchase.

With all the full sun we get (over 300 days a year), why not install solar in Phoenix?

1. It’s leased so any buyer of your home will need to qualify for assuming the balance of your lease. Solar leases work just like car leases – except car lease payments don’t rise every year on you.
2. It often can damage roof at time of install. I have seen several instances of damage to tiles and flashings, not to mention the need for installing a pigeon/bird net under the panels to stop them nesting.
3. It voids your manufacturer warranty on roof tiles (usually lifetime). Plain and simple, if you install solar you lose your tile warranty against manufacturer defects.
4. It’s hot! Most people don’t realize solar panels feed an inverter in the garage to produce energy and this generates heat. Stand in a closed garage in summer with solar and you’ll see.
5. It doesn’t generate enough power to be off the grid. Most systems on a typical home max out at 9kwh production, which may be just enough to cover power use in winter but leave you a big summer electric bill.
6. You will never own it, even after you make 20 years of lease payments. So after making 240 payments what is your reward? They show up to take the entire system off your roof and promise to fix any damage.
7. The lease payments rise every single year, on average 2.9% compounded annually. To put that in perspective, this increase has been 41% higher than the annual rate of inflation the past 20 years.
8. It’s unproven long-term. What about the company’s chances of being around for the next 20 years? If they disappear, who’s going to repair it when a panel fails? And wow are these things unsightly!
9. What happens when you need to re-tile (and change the weatherproof underlayment) or re-shingle your roof? You must pay the company (assuming they still exist) to remove the panels, store them and then re-install them so you can fix your roof.
10. All else equal, when two homes have identical features, I’ve never met a buyer who prefers the one with solar. The reasons are probably all of the above.

What are the tangible, measurable and direct benefits to a homeowner installing solar in Phoenix?