A Florida couple appeared to score a sweet deal on solar panels advertised as free with their new home. A year and a half later, they opened a letter and realized they might be stuck with a $45,000 loan.
One of the homeowners shared their unfortunate discovery on Reddit's r/legaladvice forum after refinancing their mortgage triggered questions about solar panel ownership. The property listing on Zillow featured "FREE SOLAR PANELS!!!!" in the description — and they were assured several times, including during closing, that no debt remained on the equipment.
"We're not sure what to do. Should we just ignore it?" the original poster wrote. "The loan is not in our name, and we never agreed to take over the loan, so surely we cannot be held responsible for the balance. But does this mean that we don't own the panels?"
Their contract stated that the OP and their spouse bought the house with "all existing improvements and fixtures … unless specifically excluded"; solar panels were never mentioned. The solar lender would not provide information without permission from the account holder, who was deceased.
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The cost 💰 As for the OP, fellow Redditors shared their thoughts on the tough circumstance.
"Unless you took over the lease or it's listed as a lien on the title, say, 'kick rocks,'" one commenter said.
"If you have proof that the seller listed the panels as part of the property when you purchased it, you may have legal protections," another added.
"Thinking about this logically, the solar company hasn't been paid in somewhere between four and six years. If they haven't taken the panels off the house yet, I think it's extremely unlikely they plan to now," someone else shared.
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