February 3, 2022 Ryan Kennedy

CommonBond, best known for its student financing business, announced it now offers solar financing. The company did a soft launch of its solar loans in Q3 2021, and is now on pace to perform $1 billion in residential solar project originations this year.

CommonBond offers customer facing API-based point of sale operations and app and web-based point of sale portals for installers. The software can be integrated with leading solar proposal generation tools,

“We believe that cost and awareness are two major obstacles to residential solar adoption,” said Robb Granado, president of CommonBond.  “CommonBond has built a unique set of capabilities for solar installers and homeowners to address those obstacles.”

Solar loans are common way to own a PV system. SolarReviews said secured loans such as HELOC run between 3-8.5% APR, depending on credit score. The rate of PACE loans tends to be higher, with APRs between 6.5-8.5%. Unsecured loans have higher APRs, and generally vary widely in their APRs. In general, they range 6-30%, and having a good credit score helps keep rates low. Many solar loans are zero-down, but where down payments are required, they typically range between $0-$300o. You can find a solar loan as short as three years or as long as 30, but typically they range from 10-20 years, said SolarReviews.

A Zillow study found solar raises a homes property value by 4.1% on average. On a $500,000 home, that is an increase of $21,500 in value.

SolarReviews recommends two different strategies to consider: one would be structuring the loan to have a day-one positive cash flow value, and money back in your pocket month-to-month. The other method would be to shorten the loan, maximizing savings and enjoying several years of clean, free energy for years.