Ucc Filings On Solar Panels
It helps prevent the sale of our equipment without our knowledge.
Ucc filings on solar panels. Homeowner interest in solar panel systems has grown in the past decade and we have begun to receive questions from sellers about the eligibility of mortgages secured by properties with solar panels. However does not make claim against the real property. Ucc 1 fixture filing for home solar panel systems some people call the ucc 1 a lien but it can also be referred to as a financing statement and commonly goes by the name fixture filing. This filing protects our rights as the system s owner.
Vivint solar is a leading solar panel consulting designing and installation company. If you re not buying your solar panels with cash the manufacturer may place a lien or uniform commercial code filing on your property to make sure you keep paying for them. Unfortunately when you go to refinance or sell the property it s generally trouble to have any kind of lien on your home. If the lender that holds the mortgage on the real property forecloses on our customer s home the ucc 1 filing protects our interest in the solar energy system and prohibits the lender from taking ownership of it.
Effective for mortgages with settlement dates on and after march 1 2017. Ucc 1 lien or fixture filing in case you ve never heard the term previously a lien protects the lender for a piece of property against issues with the borrower. It is a financing statement confirming tesla s ownership and or financial interest in the leased or financed solar equipment. As a homeowner you authorized a uniform commercial code 1 ucc 1 filing when you received a loan to add solar panels to your home.
If the borrower can no longer afford the agreement this puts the lender into trouble and this is why a ucc 1 financing statement will always be filed in ppas and solar leasing agreements. Properties with solar panels. Fixtures are defined in section 9 102 of the ucc as goods that have become so related to particular real property that an interest in them arises under real property law. Sometimes as referred to as a ucc 1 filing a ucc 1 fixture filing or a ucc 1 lien this is a public document that the owner of the equipment the solar company files to indicate that they have the legal right to repossess the solar equipment in the event that the debtor you the homeowner fails to keep up with their payments.
When the only property described in the ucc filing as collateral is the solar equipment covered by the lease or power purchase agreement and not the home or underlying land such a precautionary ucc filing is acceptable and a minor impediment to title as long as the loan is underwritten in accordance with this topic. It is not a lien on your home.