"Had an appraiser once who moved here from Cali and seemed pretty comfortable factoring in solar setups right away."
Yeah, I've noticed that too—seems like appraisers from states with more solar adoption (like Cali or Arizona) are quicker to factor it in. Locals here sometimes still treat solar as an afterthought...depends who you get, honestly.
Locals here sometimes still treat solar as an afterthought...depends who you get, honestly.
Interesting point about appraisers from solar-friendly states. Makes me wonder if there's any official training or guidelines they're supposed to follow when factoring in solar setups, or is it more of a gut-feel thing based on their previous experience? I'm building my first custom home and considering solar panels, but now I'm curious—would investing in solar actually help the appraisal here, or is it still too niche locally to matter much...?
When we renovated our place, the appraiser barely glanced at our solar setup—seemed more interested in the kitchen backsplash, honestly. 😂 But I've heard others had better luck. Might depend on how common solar is in your neighborhood...
"When we renovated our place, the appraiser barely glanced at our solar setup—seemed more interested in the kitchen backsplash, honestly."
Funny you mention that... when we refinanced last year, I had a similar experience. We invested quite a bit into energy-efficient windows and insulation upgrades, thinking it'd boost the appraisal significantly. But nope—the appraiser spent way more time commenting on our bathroom fixtures and flooring choices than anything efficiency-related.
Afterwards, I did some digging and found out it really does depend heavily on your local market. If solar or energy-efficient features aren't common or highly valued in your neighborhood yet, appraisers might not factor them in as much as you'd expect. One thing that helped us later was providing documentation of comparable homes nearby that sold with similar upgrades. It didn't drastically change things, but it nudged the appraisal slightly upward.
Might be worth a shot if you're feeling undervalued...
Yeah, appraisers often go for what's visually appealing over what's practical or sustainable. Had a client recently whose appraisal shot up just from repainting cabinets and adding trendy fixtures—meanwhile, their pricey HVAC upgrade barely got noticed. Frustrating, but aesthetics sell quicker than efficiency, unfortunately.
