Local Landlord Goes Solar
“Power to the people-. I just completed my first solar project for a rental property. It feels great and was a really good learning experience.”
Meet Rob Simon. A local Ashevillian who studied at both University of Florida and Western Carolina University. Rob now works in real estate and property management with specialties in investments, property management, and roles as a landlord and buyer’s agent.
Rob is a local homeowner who made the decision to go solar in 2021 and has never looked back. His philosophy is “...investing in your own home is the safest investment you can make. You own it. Don’t wait til you decide to sell it and then realize you need to put $40K into it.”
Rob’s decision to go solar with his primary residence was not a financial one, but rather a “carbon one, a heart one, a right-thing-to-do one”. He will however, get back “...most of the money invested over the next few years through depreciation of the project costs since the house didn't have solar panels on it originally.” He likens the process to putting on an addition in regards to depreciation.
As a landlord, Rob then turned to his rental properties, including a duplex and two single family homes. He first had a local roofer do a roof evaluation on all of the properties. The duplex already had a newer metal roof that was south facing and ready for solar. After determining that the other two properties with shingle roofs had significant wind and hail damage, he replaced them with metal roofs, luckily after receiving an 80% payment from his insurance company. He then had solar installed on all three properties.
In adding solar and making other green changes to his rental properties, Rob states that his houses provide a more inviting, homey environment for prospective renters. “Changes like these to a property drive in better quality tenants, result in lower turnover, and actually create longer tenant stays.”
Rob is currently working with Iron Creek Properties, a property management company, which is handling his rent collection, leasing, and all other day to day issues. Working with a property management company has helped him free up the time to pursue solar with his rentals and navigate the Duke Energy process and “...still have a smile on my face”.
His hopes are that other landlords will consider the tremendous environmental impact and think seriously about going solar.
Rob is absolutely thrilled having installed solar on his properties but offers some bits of advice after going through the solar process. “Be patient, as dealing with Duke Energy is sometimes a learning curve and can be very much a waiting game. Give yourself extra time to shepherd the project through.”
Regarding depreciation of his costs over time, Rob states, “hopefully, we will be able to use the money to make more green improvements - maybe electric car chargers will be next?” Rob is the proud owner of his first electric car and he has joined the local Blue Ridge EV group, where he will gladly share his EV experience and how much he enjoys charging his vehicle from solar.
We bow our hats to you Rob and take great comfort in knowing that the Earth’s carbon footprint is now a little bit smaller!