Solar Lease Buyout Calculator: What Buying Out Is Compared Against in California
A buyout quote arrives as one number with nothing to compare it to. The comparison you need is the payments left on your term with your own escalator applied. That is arithmetic on four figures off your own contract, so do it first, before anyone explains anything to you. The calculator is immediately below.
Work out what buying out of your solar lease is being compared against
Read the four figures below off your own lease or power purchase agreement and enter them. This tool then totals the payments left on the term, applies the escalator you entered, and sets that total beside any buyout figure you have been quoted.
Every figure this produces comes only from what you type. There is no assumed escalator, no assumed term and no industry average anywhere in it. Your signed contract and the payoff quote the lease company puts in writing are the only authoritative numbers.
Two things to settle before reading further. This page states no typical escalator, no typical buyout percentage and no average payment, because an average has nothing to do with what you signed and a wrong one would send you into a negotiation with a false anchor. And nothing here is a payoff figure: only the company that holds your agreement can issue one, and only in writing. California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor.
What a buyout actually is, and what it leaves you holding
Ending a lease early and owning the system are different outcomes, and a quoted figure can deliver either one depending on the clause it is issued under. That is the first thing to pin down, because the whole calculation changes if the payments stop but the equipment is not yours. The table sets out the four paths and what each leaves behind.
| Path | What happens to the payments | Who owns the equipment afterwards | What to get in writing first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep paying to the end of the term | They continue, rising each year by whatever escalator your contract sets. | The lease company, until the end-of-term clause says otherwise. | The end-of-term clause: renewal, purchase at a stated basis, or removal. |
| Buy out mid-term | They stop on the date the payoff clears. | Depends entirely on the clause the payoff is issued under. An early purchase option transfers the equipment; an early termination does not necessarily. | Which clause the figure is issued under, what it includes, and that the lien release follows. |
| Transfer the agreement to the buyer of the house | They continue, in the buyer’s name, on the existing terms. | Unchanged. The agreement moves, not the ownership. | The transfer conditions, any processing charge, the credit standard the buyer must meet, and the lease company’s written approval. |
| Pay it off at close of escrow | They stop at closing, out of proceeds. | Per the payoff clause, same question as a mid-term buyout. | A written payoff figure with an expiry date, plus confirmation of what comes off record and when. |
Which paths exist for you is set by your own agreement, not by this table. If the system was bought with a loan rather than leased, none of this applies and the payoff is an ordinary lender payoff. The difference between the structures is in solar lease vs PPA vs purchase.
How to make a quoted payoff figure explain itself
A payoff figure is produced by the lease company under the terms you signed, so the useful move is not guessing how it was derived. It is making them state it. Each question below changes either the figure or what you get for it, and each one has an answer somewhere in your paperwork.
| Ask for this | Why it changes the figure or what you get | Where your own answer is |
|---|---|---|
| The clause the figure is issued under | An early purchase option and an early termination are different outcomes at a similar price. One hands you the equipment. | The purchase option, early purchase or early termination section of the agreement. |
| Whether equipment ownership transfers to you | If it does not, you have bought your way out of payments and still do not own what is bolted to the roof. | The same clause, plus any bill-of-sale or transfer-of-title language. |
| An expiry date on the quote | A figure with no stated expiry gives escrow nothing to rely on, and escalating payments keep moving underneath it — ask for the date it stops being good. | Ask for it. Agreements rarely promise one. |
| What is released from record, and when | A paid-off agreement with a financing statement still on record is a title problem at the worst possible moment. | Your preliminary title report, and the Secretary of State UCC search. |
| Any charge on top of the payoff | Processing, transfer, removal or administrative charges sit outside the figure the calculator compares. | The fee schedule or charges section of the agreement. |
| Who the current servicer is | Sending a payoff request to the installer rather than the owner of the agreement is a common way weeks get lost. | The most recent statement or payment notice, not the original contract. |
California Business and Professions Code section 7169 requires a Solar Energy System Disclosure Document (CSLB Form 13L-6) on every residential solar contract, and Section 2 of that form asks the provider what liens or other obligations the financing will put against the property. Both it and the CPUC guide are listed under sources.
Buying out against staying to term
The calculator gives you three figures for the staying side: the remaining payments with your escalator applied, the same payments with no escalator, and what the escalated total works out to per year. The gap between the first two is what the escalator alone costs you over the rest of the term, which is the part people consistently underestimate because it arrives one annual increase at a time. That mechanism, on its own, is in how a solar escalator clause works.
What the calculator deliberately does not do is discount future payments to a present value, or net off the electricity the system produces, or put a value on the equipment. Each of those needs an assumption, and an assumption dressed as a result is worse than a blank. If you want the brand-specific version of how one company describes its payoff basis, that is how a Sunrun buyout cost is calculated. If what you are weighing is stopping payment rather than paying out, read what happens if you stop paying a solar lease first, because the consequences are not symmetrical.
Selling the house: transfer or pay it off
This is where a buyout stops being optional and starts having a deadline. The CPUC California Solar Consumer Protection Guide sets out the two routes a California seller has: the buyer assumes the agreement with the lease company's approval, or the agreement is paid off. Both run on the lease company's timetable, which is why the request goes in early rather than when escrow opens. The full sequence, including what a buyer's lender tends to ask for, is in selling a house with a solar lease or PPA in California.
Run the calculator twice here. Once with the quoted payoff, to see what closing it out costs against the payments it ends. Once with the payoff left blank, so you can tell a buyer what they would be assuming in plain numbers. A buyer who is handed the remaining payment schedule argues about the house instead of about the panels.
The financing statement on record, and why title cares
Third-party-owned systems are commonly secured by a UCC-1 financing statement. Under California Commercial Code section 9501 that statement is filed with the Secretary of State and reaches the equipment; a fixture filing is a different instrument and is filed with the county recorder, where it shows up against the real property. Under section 9515 a financing statement is effective for five years from the date of filing and lapses unless a continuation statement is filed.
Practically, that means two searches before you rely on anything: the Secretary of State UCC search for a financing statement in your name, and your preliminary title report for anything recorded against the property. Then make the release part of the payoff instruction, in writing, rather than a thing you chase afterwards. Which instrument does what, and how the priority questions fall out, is in the UCC-1 lien on a California solar system.
Solar lenders also end up in court over claims on real property. One federal docket read on November 9, 2026, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation v. Everbright LLC, No. 4:25-cv-00632 in the District of Arizona, is a petition to quiet title; its entries do not say whether solar equipment is involved. That case and the other lender dockets are listed in solar loan lawsuits in California. A lease or PPA buyout figure is not a loan payoff, so confirm which one you have before you compare numbers.
When the installer no longer exists
An installer closing does not cancel the agreement, because in a third-party-owned structure the installer and the owner of the contract are frequently separate companies to begin with. The payoff request goes to whoever is named on your most recent statement, not to the name on the original proposal. For any entity still trading, the CSLB Check a License lookup shows the license status and classification for the exact legal name on your paperwork, which is how you tell a successor servicer from a sales brand. The step-by-step version is in what to do when a California solar installer goes out of business, and the warning signs in the paperwork itself are in solar contract red flags.
Where this site sits
California Rate Relief is an independent California information and referral service. It is not a contractor, a utility, a lease company or a government agency. It does not buy, assume, service or terminate agreements, cannot release a lien and cannot issue a payoff figure. The calculator, the tables and the source links on this page can be used without submitting anything. If you do submit an inquiry, you are referred to a solar company, and that company decides what it can offer.
California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor.
California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor. California Rate Relief is compensated by a solar provider when a homeowner we refer signs an agreement. How we make money
The full statement is on how we make money, with the form's own terms on the referral service disclosure page and handling of submitted details in the privacy policy.
What to do next
In order: find the escalator and the term in your agreement, run the calculator, then request a written payoff figure and the clause it is issued under. With the remaining-payment total already in front of you, the quote is a number you can argue with instead of a number you have to accept. If you are weighing this against a different system entirely, the cost side is in what it costs to rent or lease solar panels in California.
Frequently asked questions
What is a solar lease buyout?
It is paying the lease or power purchase agreement out early, in one amount, instead of continuing the monthly payments to the end of the term. What you get for that amount is set by your own agreement and is not the same in every contract. Some let you buy the equipment outright, so it becomes yours and stays on the roof. Some end the payments and leave removal or ownership to be settled separately. The clause that says which one applies to you is in your contract, usually under early purchase, early termination or purchase option.
How do I calculate a solar lease buyout?
You cannot calculate the figure the lease company will quote, because that figure is theirs to set under the terms you signed. What you can calculate, and what the calculator on this page does, is the thing the quote has to be judged against: the payments left on the term with your own escalator applied, the same payments with no escalator, and what each works out to per year. Ask the lease company for the payoff figure in writing, enter it, and the page shows the difference between the two.
Is buying out a solar lease worth it?
That depends on numbers only you have, and this page does not answer it for you. The comparison has at least four parts: the quoted payoff, the payments left under your escalator, what you would still owe or still save on electricity either way, and whether buying out actually transfers ownership of the equipment to you. Run the arithmetic on your own figures, then read the purchase-option clause before you decide. A written payoff quote is the only version of the figure that binds anyone.
Can I sell my house with a solar lease still on it?
Yes, and in California there are generally two routes. Either the buyer assumes the agreement and the lease company approves the transfer, or the contract is paid off at or before close of escrow. The CPUC California Solar Consumer Protection Guide describes both options. Which one is available to you, what the lease company charges to process a transfer, and what credit standard a buyer has to meet are all set by your agreement, so start by asking the lease company in writing.
Does a solar lease put a lien on my house?
Many third-party-owned systems are secured by a UCC-1 financing statement, which is filed with the California Secretary of State and attaches to the equipment rather than to the real property. A fixture filing is a different instrument and goes to the county recorder. Under California Commercial Code section 9515 a financing statement is effective for five years from filing unless it is continued. A title company will see whatever is on record, so find out which instrument exists in your case before a sale is in motion.
What if the company that installed my system is gone?
The installer and the party that owns the lease are often not the same company, and the lease obligation does not disappear when an installer closes. Find the current servicer named on your most recent statement or payment notice and send the payoff request there. For any company still trading, the Contractors State License Board Check a License lookup shows the license status and classification for the exact legal name on your paperwork.
Does California Rate Relief buy out solar leases?
No. California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor. We do not buy, assume, service or terminate anyone’s lease, and we cannot release a lien or issue a payoff figure. Those come from the company that holds your agreement. What this page offers is the arithmetic and a list of what to ask them to put in writing.
California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor. This page does not value any system, does not issue or verify a payoff figure, and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Your own agreement and a written quote from the company that holds it are the only authoritative documents.
Ask before you sign
Start with the utility on your bill and what you pay in a typical month. Contact details come after that. Nothing here reviews or approves a contract on its own.
California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor. California Rate Relief is compensated by a solar provider when a homeowner we refer signs an agreement. How we make money
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