Buyout and payoff quotes

Your SunStrong buyout quote looks too high. Here is how to check it.

Owners in the SunStrong and Sunnova groups have posted buyout quotes of $50,000 and more on systems that cost a fraction of that new. Some of those numbers are simply wrong, and the only way to know is to hold the quote up against your own agreement. It takes about twenty minutes.

First, which kind of agreement do you have?

A loan (you own the system): there is no "buyout." What you want is a payoff statement from the lender, and it should match your loan balance, not a separate price.

A lease or a PPA (the company owns it): the price to buy it is set by your agreement, not by whoever answers the phone. Everything below is about this case.

How a lease or PPA buyout is usually priced

Most agreements have a section called something like Purchase Option, Option to Purchase or Early Buyout. It usually does one of three things:

Prints a price for each year of the agreement, in a table near the back.
Says the price is fair market value, set by an independent appraisal.
Says the price is the greater of the two, the table figure or the appraisal.

Some agreements only let you buy at certain points, such as after year five or when you sell the house. A quote that simply adds up every payment left on the lease is not the purchase price unless your agreement says it is.

Check your quote in five steps

Find the purchase section and the table. If you don't have your agreement, ask SunStrong in writing for a complete copy, including every amendment.
Work out your contract year. It usually counts from the day the system was switched on (the in-service or interconnection date), not the day you signed. That can move you a whole line on the table.
Compare. Put the quote next to the table figure for your year. If they differ, that's your question.
If it's fair market value, ask who did the appraisal and for a copy of it. A number with no appraisal behind it is not an appraisal.
Ask in writing which line of the agreement the quote comes from, what it includes (taxes, removal of any filing on your property records, the title transfer), and give a date to answer by.

One more thing worth knowing: if your system has been down or under-producing, many leases provide a production guarantee credit for short years, which can matter to what you pay. The free check shows in a minute whether your system has been producing what it should.

“He is terrific to work with. Goes above and beyond!!!”
Joan F., New York, a SunStrong lease customer

“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

The buyout quote letter. I check your quote against your own agreement, line by line, and write the demand for a corrected figure, or for the appraisal behind it, quoting the section it comes from.

$99 flat. You read and approve it, then send it yourself from your own email.

Or do it yourself with the Buyout Quote Check Kit, $29.

Have me write it or start with the free production check, or email jon@solarstillworks.com.

What this page isn't

It isn't legal advice, and agreements differ from one customer to the next, so your own contract wins over anything general here. It's the playbook that has worked for owners in the groups I spend my time in. If you have a lawyer, show them your agreement; if you don't, this is where most people start.