Can you sell a Scottsdale home that has leased solar panels?

Selling a Scottsdale home that has leased solar panels is something people do, and the lease is the part you have to deal with. Either the buyer takes the lease over with the solar company's approval, or the lease gets paid off before closing, and which one makes sense depends on your contract and the payoff figure.

I'm Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Luxury in Scottsdale, AZ, helping people buy and sell homes. I already wrote about this from the buyer's side in what happens when you buy a home with leased solar panels, and about owning versus leasing in solar lease versus solar purchase, so this one is only about what you do as the seller.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice, and your solar contract and an Arizona real estate attorney have the final word on your situation. The forms and guides below are the editions I read on November 4, 2026, and a form can be revised, so the version your agent uses is the one that controls.

The lease does not go away because the house sold. The Arizona REALTORS® Solar Addendum, in its November 2025 edition, splits a sale into two paths. One is for a system the seller owns outright, that will be paid in full at and as a condition of close of escrow, or that the utility owns. The other is for a system that is still under a lease or an unpaid loan, where the buyer's purchase depends on the buyer being approved to take that lease or loan over.

On the lease path, the form says the buyer has to get the solar company's approval to assume the lease on your existing terms, and the sale is tied to that approval. Homie's Arizona seller guide, published September 14, 2026, says the same thing in plain words: a leased system does not convey with the house, so the buyer qualifies to assume it or the seller buys it out. It adds that a power purchase agreement works the same way, except you pay per kilowatt hour with a yearly increase.

If the buyer does not want the system, you have another route. Sunrun's page for sellers says you can prepay the rest of your service and include that cost in the price of the home, and the buyer then gets the solar power until the agreement ends. Sunrun is one company, so read what your own agreement says before you assume yours works the same way. A prepayment and a purchase of the system are not the same thing, and the first question to ask your solar company is which of those it offers.

The Arizona REALTORS® Solar Addendum lists what the seller does after the contract is accepted. Within three days, the seller gives the buyer the most recent lease or loan, every other solar document the seller has, and the name and phone number of the solar company. The seller also tells the solar company about the sale, including the buyer's name and the name of the escrow company, and says whether the seller is current on the payments.

The Central Arizona Association of REALTORS® published a piece on August 31, 2026 that says the same thing and adds a list of what to pull together before you list: the solar agreement, a recent statement, payoff or buyout information, warranty and utility details, and the company's transfer instructions. Homie's guide suggests asking for the transfer package at listing, covering the assumption requirements, the transfer fee, the remaining term, the current payment and the yearly increase.

Arizona law already points you to the right person. A.R.S. 44-1763 says a solar sale or lease agreement has to disclose whether transferring it has restrictions, and if a third party has to approve a transfer, the agreement has to name that party with an address and phone number. That means your agreement should tell you who to call. On Sunrun's seller page, the steps are to enter the buyer's and the escrow company's contact details in Sunrun's transfer portal, after which everyone verifies and signs through DocuSign, and you get a final invoice for the energy the system made up to the day the transfer is complete.

The addendum leaves the transfer fee open. It has a blank where the parties mark whether the buyer, the seller or someone else pays any mandatory fee charged by the solar company, the utility or another third party, including document processing and warranty transfer fees, and it says the fee is non-refundable. The Central Arizona Association of REALTORS® article says the November 2025 revision expanded the fee provision. None of the sources I read gives a dollar amount, so I'm not going to either. Ask your solar company what it charges.

The addendum also gives the buyer ways out that affect you as the seller. On the lease path, the buyer needs the solar company's approval no later than three days before the close of escrow date. If the buyer cannot get it after a good faith effort, and gives the seller a signed notice by that same date, the contract is cancelled and the earnest money goes back to the buyer. The form also says that if the buyer's credit score is below what the solar company requires and the company charges a credit score fee to approve the buyer, the buyer can cancel within the inspection period or five days after hearing about the fee, whichever is later. The Central Arizona Association of REALTORS® article describes the same risk: the buyer may be declined, may have to pay extra, or may be approved too late, and approval from the solar company is separate from the mortgage approval.

Two more items fall to you. The form tells the seller to start the transfer as soon as the contract is accepted, and it asks both sides to set a close of escrow date that leaves enough time for it. And if the electricity is on when the contract is accepted, the seller keeps it on through closing, because turning it off or changing the rate plan in a way that makes the buyer's rates worse, including losing net metering, is treated as a change in the property.

That is a numbers question, and it starts with the payoff figure from your solar company. Homie's guide recommends getting the buyout figure before you list, and I would too. Once you have it, you can compare two outcomes: a transfer, where the buyer needs approval and the fee and timing are left open, or a payoff, where the system is no longer a lease when the house is listed. Ask the company what the payoff covers, because Sunrun's prepayment option leaves the buyer receiving power under the existing agreement, while the addendum's owned path is for a system the seller owns or will pay in full at closing.

If you pay a system off, ask for the recorded filing to be released as well. Freddie Mac's Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide section 5601.4 says a system that is owned free and clear cannot have a UCC-1 financing statement recorded against the property, and the buying post explains what a UCC-1 fixture filing is and why a lender cares. Here is what your home might be worth if you want a starting number to put the payoff next to: my home value page. I can also put the payoff figure on an estimated net sheet beside the transfer option, so you can see both in dollars before you decide.

The Arizona REALTORS® Residential Seller's Property Disclosure Statement, the SPDS, asks about solar in the utilities section. In the February 2023 edition I read, it asks whether any alternate power systems serve the property, what type they are (solar is one of the boxes), and whether you know of any past or present problems with them. It then asks whether any of those systems are leased. If they are, it asks for the name and phone number of the leasing company and says to attach a copy of the lease if you have one.

Below that, the form carries a notice to the buyer: if a solar system serves the property, read all the pertinent documents and review the cost, insurability, operation and value of the system. The Central Arizona Association of REALTORS® recap of the Arizona REALTORS® General Counsel's September 2025 presentation says the November 2025 release made no SPDS changes, though the date printed on your form is what tells you which edition you have. The duty to disclose what you know about the home is bigger than any one question, and I wrote about it in what you have to disclose when you sell a house in Arizona.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say the value of leased or power purchase agreement panels cannot be included in the appraised value of the home. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, section B2-3-04, says the same panels are left out of the loan-to-value calculation and that the lender has to get and review the lease or agreement. Freddie Mac's Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide, section 5601.4, says the same about the panels and requires a copy of the agreement in the loan file.

Owned panels are handled differently. Fannie Mae says that when the borrower owns the panels outright, or they are paid off, the standard requirements apply, and Freddie Mac says an appraiser assesses what an energy improvement adds based on how the market reacts to it, like any other feature of the home. So an appraisal can give credit for a system you own, and it will not give credit for one you lease.

The monthly payment matters to the buyer's loan too. Fannie Mae says a lease payment generally counts toward the buyer's debt-to-income ratio, and that payments under a power purchase agreement that are based only on the energy produced may be left out. Freddie Mac sets conditions for leaving out a lease payment and says a power purchase agreement payment can be left out if it is calculated only on the energy generated. On the recorded filing, Fannie Mae calls a precautionary UCC filing that describes only the solar equipment a minor impediment to title, and Freddie Mac says a panel-only filing does not need a subordination agreement, while a filing that creates a lien on the real estate has to be subordinated or released. A particular lender can have its own rules, and FHA and VA loans have their own, so I have not covered them here. Your buyer's lender is the one that decides.

Start with the paperwork. Find your solar agreement and a recent statement, and ask the solar company for the transfer instructions, any transfer fee, and the payoff figure. Check what your contract says about who has to approve a transfer, since Arizona law says the agreement should name that party.

Then decide whether you would rather have a buyer assume the lease or pay it off, and have the number for each ready before the house is listed. If the electricity is on, keep it on and leave the rate plan alone through closing.

If you would like help with the numbers, send me the agreement and the payoff figure and I will go through them with you. You can get in touch or call me at (480) 203-6605. If you are also looking at how I prepare a listing, here is how I help you sell your home.