Condo Association Management Blog

My comment is simple, if he wants to lay out the cash for the panels then I think it could be worthconsidering. However, it sounds as though he wants your association to pay for the panels and then lease from him. If that's the case, I think he's nuts and very unethical. I would consider firing him immediately. 
Darron Hay 
Assessment Recovery

No, I think the manager plans to pay for the panels, since it says "he will own the panels."  
 
But I am dubious. Why should you see decreased utility bills in four years? They should decrease as soon as the solar panels are installed.  
 
Also, why couldn't the association buy the solar panels? They should pay for themselves over a few years, through decreased electric bills. There might be government programs, etc. that would help pay for them.

If the manager lays out the money--it's a good deal for you. You will see decreased electric bills immeadiately. He is saying that the payback period is four years, not that bills will start to decrease in four years. That, however, sounds like he wants the association to pay for the upfront costs.  
 
Now--to the important matter: 
TAX BREAKS: 
This is an area that the feds and the states have to address. they give corporations and private individuals tax breaks for energy improvements, but HOA's and Condominiums were left out (probably an oversight) The Feds should allow the owners to divide up the costs of the improvement and take a tax credit for each owner's individual share of the cost.

How can the manager purchase solar panels and have them installed on property he does not own ? He can't take a tax break because he does not own the whole building... If you want to take advantage of solar panels and I have a single family owned home, friend that is saving money on it. I would have the association buy them for the building but then if everything is individual metered how can you tell what you save? No NO to the manager being involved in purchasing, installing, renting etc. Bad mistake. He plans to make money on the association for his cause. Have the solar panel people speak at your meeting (annual) have them do a study of how each unit will benefit, if it does, the association should put in place. Make sure the manager does not take back a kick back from such sale. Is your manager - licensed with the state there ?

Sorry, I read it wrong. Clubhouse. How much does your utilities cost ?Speak to others who have had solar panels done. I thought you meant the whole living building. NO NO to manager installing anything.....

Seems to me there are two issues to consider:- 
 
1) The financial benefit, if any, of installing solar panels. 
 
2 The benefit to the environment 
 
 
 
This is entirly for the members to to consider and decide. If the decision is to install panels then clearly the most cost effective way should be adopted this may or may not be the manager's suggested approach (my gut feeling is that rental should not be paid to the manager)

The tax break idea above is very important.  
If the manager wants to lay out the money I would support the idea making sure that a contract was drawn up by outside, neutral attorneys.  
It would be of great benefit in the long run to every owner.  

This clearly smacks of a conflict of interest.Make sure all of your associations dealings with contractors are clearly 'at arm's length' and that all of your manager's future dealings on your behalf are both transparent and subject to diligent checks and balances.

What it the benefit of not becoming a non-profit corporation? Then you can buy the panels and take the tax break and the reduced electrical cost. It is definately a conflict of interst for the Association Manager to benefit from this. He needs to decide to be YOUR Association Manager OR your Certified Solar Panel Company.

We don't work in NJ, but maybe you should have another solar installer come in to give you a quote. Our company just wrote a blog about why purchasing a solar electric system outright may be a better financial decision and shorter time to payback. I think the condo association should explore all options... it could be conflict of interest for the property manager to also lease out the system to the tenants. 
 
 
 
http://www.brightstarsolar.net/2011/02/solar-power-for-condominiums/

https://www.admiralswalkcondo.net/uploads/presentation_227.pdf 
 
Look at the link and you will see how ruthless Boards can be. Also look at 07020.com and look at the Admiral's Walk forum. Activism has a price. Be ready to pay it. If you believe in your cause, fight!

I had one of my client companies give me this. In New Jersey I think it would be a great idea and the association would have NO financial investment, just a cash stream.  
 
We want your roof.  
 
1. Why do you want my roof? We are a Texas based solar company that wants to put a solar generating system on every business roof.  
 
2. What is it going to cost me? Nothing. We have all the money we need (see below).  
 
3.Does that mean zero down or no cost? That means you will not be charged a dime.  
 
4. I’ve tried this before and it seemed like a very complicated process, how are you different from everyone else? We want to pay you a good wage to lease your roof space for our solar system. Ok tell me more. There are two reason to do solar- reduce your carbon footprint and/or make money. We have simplified the process for your company to make money with solar, although the carbon footprint you reduce might not be your own.  
 
5.Who owns and maintains the unit? We own the unit and maintain it.  
 
What’s the deal? There is ALWAYS a catch. No catch here. If you OWNED the unit you would get the tax incentives, state and federal rebates, be able to sell excess power back to the grid, gather up your last 2-3 years of company financials, have to find a lender for the system, research/determine the best system for your space and worry about ROI. We keep all incentives, put up all the money, and sell the energy back to the grid.  
 
With us, we lease your rooftop from you and pay you in SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Credits). What are those? For every 1000 kilowatts a solar system generates it produces 1 SREC. A 40,000 square foot roof with usable roof space of 20,000 square feet will generate roughly 300 to 600 SRECs per year. SRECs are traded like stocks and are valued from $30 to $695 depending on where your property is located. Click the web-link below and see the states that trade SRECs and the most recent value (some states like Ohio let bordering states trade their SRECs at a lower price, since those states does not have their own SREC market or their price is low- IN, KY, WV, PA, MI). Illinois has limited trading areas in PA only (Com Ed territory only - Northeastern Illinois).  
http://www.srectrade.com/srec_prices.php 
 
So let’s say your roof top will produce 300 SRECs per year and you live in Maryland (check price on web-link above for Dec. 2011 most recent value).  
 
$210 per SREC x 300 per year= $63,000 in income to your business with NO capital outlay at all. What if your property was located in Massachusetts $530 x 300 = $159,000 in extra income. What if your property was in Delaware $60.10 x 300 per year= $18,030 in extra money to pay your electric bill every year, you are not getting rich, but at least it is something. Plus, your energy rate will be fixed for the life of our lease agreement (20 yrs), so you don’t have to worry about your electric rate going up.