Solar Panels and Staying Sane

"Going after a dream has a price. It may mean abandoning our habits, it may make us go through hardships, or it may lead us to disappointment. But however costly it may be, it is never as high as the price paid by people who didn't live."

We have hit a wall, a rather high one over which nobody can see right now. If I could sum up the whole process of moving with one nasty little buzz word it would be “opaque.” Nobody wants to talk, professionals do not want or feel inclined to share information of the proceedings with the flailing pawns whilst we desperately try to make decisions about what to do next, unable to see a hand in front of our face.

So where are we currently? It turns out our buyers have fallen foul of the government subsidised Rent-A-Roof scheme whereby solar panels were installed en masse on the rooftops of properties at no cost to the home-owner. The solar panel manufacturer benefits from the electricity generated (Feed In Tariffs) and apart from the long term consequence of the home-owner no longer owning their own roof, being able to sell their house or remove the panels, everyone wins! There is horror story upon horror story online of people caught up in the dream turned nightmare where their home has become their prison, the air space above their property is owned by a plucky start-up that no longer exists and mortgage applications are being refused. For some, there is no option to buy out of the scheme or have the panels removed. We have inadvertently become caught up in such a scenario, this only coming to light on the day we were due to exchange. It is nothing short of a scandal.

Husband and I were not explicitly given this information, because where would the fun in that be. We deduced it from language the agents began using when phrases such as “Deed of Variation” and “Land Registry” started being bandied about. We did our own digging and discovered this wolf in sheep’s clothing, an initiative we had never previously heard of. But it is out there and prowling upon the rooftops of the unsuspecting, ready to show its hand and sabotage house sales.

We have had our own conversations with Land Registry and we are confident once our buyers’ have purchased (yep, it will cost them money after all) a Deed of Variation from the solar panel company, they can submit this to Land Registry who will expedite the process and turn it round in ten days. Let’s stay focused, let’s stay positive, let’s stay…sane.

So, solar panels and questions of sanity aside, what now? Despite the current respite of half term, Daughter is due to start back at her new school and I am due to take on my new teaching role, in 11 days. In Cumbria. 300 miles away from where we currently live. Whilst we know that Land Registry can expedite the Deed of Variation once they have it, therein lies the rub. They don’t yet have it! And we have no idea when they might have it and nobody to ask. And when we do dare to put the question out there, we are told by nameless professionals and emails with no signatures to “manage our expectations” and on one occasion “Trust me, I know what I am doing with this file!” If everyone in the process spoke a different language but communicated with us, the process would be infinitely more transparent than the one we’re being subjected to. And just for the record, none of our lives are a file and all those involved in conveyancing would do well to remember that.

Having left the pod behind and returned home to be reunited as a complete family, we will now move forwards as a complete family. Despite hoping there would be no more temporary accommodation, our next temporary accommodation is an inevitability owing to the delays. We are living parallel lives and have commitments in Cumbria that have to be fulfilled. We don’t operate to capacity when divided, we are the awesome foursome. So having decided that we will now travel up to Cumbria together to live in rented accommodation, we need to decide how long to sign on the dotted line for, all completely in the dark. Do we rent for 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 2 months? It’s money we can ill afford with no liquidity and no room for borrowing with a mortgage pending. A mortgage and concurrent rental was never part of the master plan. But dreams come at a price... this is our mantra.

On a slightly less pragmatic note, nothing quite compares to the loathing I feel for crass, short-sighted, get rich quick government energy schemes right now. If it’s free, and it seems too good to be true, I can categorically assure you, it bloody is.