Selling with a solar loan
Selling a house with a solar loan: the lien, the payoff letter and closing on time
Most solar loans are secured by a UCC-1 fixture filing recorded against your property. It isn't a mortgage, but a title search finds it, and the buyer's lender won't close until somebody explains it. The fix is paperwork, and the slow part is getting the right company to put it in writing.
What the title company will want
- A payoff letter from the company that services the loan today, good through your closing date, with the exact amount and wiring instructions.
- A commitment to release the filing once paid: a UCC-3 termination recorded with the same county or state office that holds the UCC-1.
- Or, if the buyer takes over the loan, the servicer's written approval of the assumption.
Why it stalls
Many solar loans were sold, and several lenders went through bankruptcy. The name on the filing (Mosaic, Sunlight, SunPower Financial, Sunnova) is often not the company that cashes your payments now, and the new servicer may not answer the title company's calls. Your latest statement names the servicer. A phone request gets "we'll get back to you." A dated written request with the account number, the closing date and the documents you need gets a dated answer, or a paper trail showing you asked.
When to start
The week you list, not the week you close. Ask for the payoff letter and the release terms in writing, and give a response date that leaves room before closing. If the number doesn't match your loan statement, ask for the itemization in the same letter.
The Home Sale or Buyout Packet. A dated demand, prepared from your own agreement and latest statement, that quotes the transfer, buyout or release terms, says exactly what you need and by when, and gives your agent and title company a date they can point to. Plus a one-page summary for the closing file, and one follow-up letter if they don't answer in writing within 30 days.
$249, ready in 3 business days. You read and approve it, then send it yourself.
“After the letter was sent, it was mere days that they got back to me with a much more positive email looking into all our issues causing the total system to be down.”
Tami B., SunStrong customer
What this page isn't
It isn't legal advice. Loan, lease and filing rules differ by state and by contract, and your own agreement wins over anything general here. Your title officer or a real-estate attorney in your state can confirm what applies to you.