The interest rate seems reasonably high at 4.99. I’m inclined to pay the 41,000 in cash (I’ll get 10,500 in fed tax credit) so really 31,000 considering I’d have to pay the taxes anyway. It’s for an 11.34kW system and 3 power walls. It’s a decent chunk of dough but I’d like to hear why others may have chosen financing. I’m sure it can’t be a deductible internedt expense.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Does anyone finance their panels?
- Thread starter Zer0t
- Start date
TheTalkingMule
Distributed Energy Enthusiast
jrweiss98020
Tessa's Tesla
The other thing to look at is refinancing the property with cash out and/or taking out a home-equity loan. Rates should be better (even taking into account fees/points) and, even though the tax law changes mean fewer will itemize deductions, the extra amount might be something you can deduct since it is for home improvement (assuming this is a primary residence.) It may not be an option in all cases, but it is something to consider.
ArizonaJon
Member
Some people in my area have leased the panels (from the old Solar City). This has caused problems on resale of their homes as the buyer did not want or could not qualify to take over the lease.
Be sure if you finance you can pay off the loan at time of closing is you ever want to or need to sell your home.
Be sure if you finance you can pay off the loan at time of closing is you ever want to or need to sell your home.
Do you think so? The total is about 53,500 but there’s a 7100 discount for installing PW with the panels and an 8,200 transition renewable energy credit that really brings the price down. There’s so additional money for trenching but after the discount, rebates and tax incentives it’s 31,058.73. For me to just do a natural gas generator was nearly 16,000 bucks. So I look at this as a net 16,000 because I was going to do backup power in one form or another.
If you do finance be extra careful of liens or a UCC (fixture filing usually) against either the panels themselves or your home with a secured loan. @ArizonaJon's suggestion is good but I've seen stupid/bad/etc loan programs that don't allow you to pay off panels early which can really put you in a bind as you look to sell as encumbered properties are extremely challenging to purchase. Lease programs sometimes have these issues as well, especially with early termination clauses which makes assuming the lease something the buyer would have to take on, decreasing the selling price. @wjgjr's advice about the HELOC or cash-out refi on a primary mortgage is much cleaner in this sense but can be more expensive up front with both fees and hassle, especially on a primary refi.
If you ask me personally? Go cash and avoid all of the headache entirely.
If you ask me personally? Go cash and avoid all of the headache entirely.
Agree with the cash. Not sure I would every go with a home equity loan. No use putting you home up as collateral for a solar system.
I would agree that cash is the best option in general and the approach we took with ours. But, I would say that if somebody finds value in solar but is not able to pay up front, that a home equity or refinance is worth looking into since the flip side of using a home as collateral is that it should get you a better interest rate, and many people already have a mortgage, so it is not really changing that equation. Instead of paying the utility $x per month, now you pay a mortgage company an additional $y, where hopefully y < x. Again, not for everybody (and I could particularly understand it where somebody owns their home outright) but worth looking into, particularly since home improvements can be a tax-advantaged reason to refinance.
Just doing a quick scan of rates, there are 30-year, no cost/fee refinance options well under the 5% mentioned by OP, and rates get better with shorter terms and/or paying some fees/points up front.
Does anyone know if Tesla still allows credit cards as payments for solar/powerwall? I think it would be awesome to use a 0% credit card to float the cost for a year or so and get some rewards points in the process. Of course you'd want to pay that thing off before the balance becomes due!
Tbh, if they allow credit cards with no fee I'd do it just for the 41,000 points!
This just came up in another thread (though off topic in that thread, so not obvious it was discussed if searching the forum) but several of us, myself included, confirmed that Tesla is taking credit card payments, with reports from people with solarglass, solar panels, and PW projects. Sometimes (like me) we received PayPal invoices, where others were able to pay Tesla directly.
So yeah, had I realized earlier, I might have looked into a card with a 0% teaser, or better yet, one that offers bonus points during a teaser period.
And, to be clear, no fees on the payment. Used PayPal, paid the exact amount due, and Tesla as the merchant presumably paid whatever fees they negotiated with PayPal.
I'm not down to use the house for collateral for solar panels. Also, I got the craziest mortgage from BofA when I finished construction on this house. I have 100% LTV, no PMI, 2.75% 30 year fixed and the origination was negative ~34 basis points which means cash to me at closing. If it weren't so insanely cheap I'd have paid cash for the house.
I'm going to pay cash (no fee credit card) for the panels I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on something that could be potentially beneficial to me.
Totally! But having that money in my pocket for another year or more is even better. The Chase Freedom Unlimited seems like a good option for this.. 1.5% back and 0% teaser rate.
I agree perhaps I look at that or force Merrill to match it on my current card rather than originate more credit.
That 1.5% can also be turned into 2.25% back on travel with ultimate rewards points (though admittedly, these days travel points are probably less in demand than they once were.)
I made my last payment in May, so very recent, and I think others were also within the last month - Might be seeing the light at the end of tunnel:) - seems to be where some discussion of credit card payments started.
Similar threads
