Home Equity Loan

My strong feeling is you're going to have to wait at least a year to get a new lender to entertain the idea of a HELOC or a refinance.  Also, seems to be a bit smarter to settle in and then decide priorities and knock out the upgrades over time with cash rather than getting over leveraged on the house and paying a bunch of new closing costs and higher interest rates with a refi or HELOC. 

If the upgrades are so you can generate additional rental income then perhaps it's a different story, as you're immediately bringing in revenue from the upgrades.  

When I looked into solar on my home, it was a 10-year payback ignoring time value of money.  I know a lot of people swear by solar, but at least in my case, the numbers didn't pencil out.   

Anyway congrats on the new place and best of luck. 

Posted by: @VIpirate

When I looked into solar on my home, it was a 10-year payback ignoring time value of money.

Was that on your home in the VI? My 30 panel 7.5 Kw system paid itself off in just under 5 years. Since installation, I've never paid for electricity once and always get a credit every month. We installed AC just to burn off some of the credits. Not only that, but, having solar adds a lot of value to your home ands puts it above non-solar homes for potential homebuyers. It was the best investment I've ever made.

@vicanuck 

Yes this was for my home in STT.  The cost for solar, power wall, etc was about $75K and based on my historical WAPA bills, that's more than a 10-year payback actually closer to 12-15 years payback at current rates ignoring time value of money. 

Since I'm not selling anytime soon, I don't really care if it adds any value to the house and I suspect a hurricane will come through within the next 10-years and damage the system and technology will improve over time.  I'm not against solar, it just doesn't make sense in my case.   

5 bedroom home, fully electric and AC in every room. I have a back-up 40K generator when WAPA goes out, but suspect I could get by with 20K generator.   

@VIpirate 

Ah yes...we didn't go with batteries back then because they were about 3X the price they are now. Our system was about $36K minus the federal rebate. We have a 15Kw diesel that runs everything. Plus, we're on the original 1:1 net metering scheme for 25 years which is the most generous in N. America. I see your reasoning completely now.

@knowlesstak

The VI Energy Office just announced a 15 year 1%apr loan that you can get for up to $30k for solar installations.

https://viconsortium.com/vi-government/virgin-islands-energy-office-program-providing-low-interest-loans-to-homeowners-to-install-solar-power-and-battery-storage-begins-today-applications-available-online

That may be a better option than an equity loan for the solar piece.

We have a smaller (3 kw, 14 panel) solar system with 21 kWh of storage. We usually get a small credit on our bill that helps it when company comes. Like @vicanuck, we're on the 'original' 1:1 net metering plan. 

Depending on your power needs, you may be able to cover your solar with the loan for about $250/month plus the new net meeting fee.

Depending on your remodel priorities, you may be able to 'cash flow' the projects that give you the most bang for your buck in the beginning and then get an equity line later for larger projects you think you'll hire out.

When you're ready for your windows and doors, I've got a guy in Florida that saved me a couple thousand per door off local prices for Miami Dade HVWZ hurricane rated doors.

@rewired 

Thanks for the advice. I saw the solar also and it is a much better option. We should close in 1-2 weeks which would give us around a week before the deadline to submit for the solar. 

Amazingly we are looking to close in under 30 days. 

Thanks for the insight on the doors and windows. Will be sending you a message later down the road on that if you don’t mind. 

Thanks again. 

Posted by: @knowlesstak

Amazingly we are looking to close in under 30 days.

Closing in 30 days? In the VI? I wish you the best of luck on that!

Let us know how it turns out!!!

@vicanuck 

i know. I was shocked as well. Appraisal was done within a week of the contract, and title and survey done within 2 weeks. Insurance already being done and they said closing within 30 days. Welcome to the twilight zone!

@vicanuck 

Under contract on 9/14. Closed this morning 10/12. Crazy!!!

@knowlesstak WOW!!!! THAT'S AMAZING.

Hearty congratulations and this great achievement!

Just a little more data on solar cost.  First I used Mike Bruno of Energy Wise Strategies, who I highly recommend.  We initially put it in a 9.92kW, 32 panel system with a 18.5kWh battery.  The total cost was $36K.  A year and a half later, after living with the system and seeing our usage, we added a second battery for $14K, so a total cost of $50K. This is before any tax credits.  At this point we don’t have any net metering as I’m not sure what benefit it offers, I here the current plan isn’t very attractive.

Most of the year our system covers our needs but during the hot months the with all the A/C units running and daily consumption hovering around 50kWh we sometimes see a bill of $150 or maybe $200.

We did add a Kohler 28kW diesel generator this summer, which backs up our 2 cottages as well as our house, but that’s another story. 

Posted by: @jaldeborgh

At this point we don’t have any net metering as I’m not sure what benefit it offers, I here the current plan isn’t very attractive.

The original net metering plan is (was) incredibly good while the current net metering plan is incredibly bad.

Being on the original 1:1 net metering plan, we didn't go with batteries when Mike did our system because they were out of reach cost wise. But, we have a whole home diesel generator which is very simple and easy to run. We've found that it's perfect for the few outages we experience throughout the course of a year, but, fully capable to run 24/7 for months if called upon in a disaster scenario.

If faced with the choice between the "new net metering scheme" versus "off-grid batteries+generator" TODAY, I would definitely take the latter.

Posted by: @vicanuck

If faced with the choice between the "new net metering scheme" versus "off-grid batteries+generator" TODAY, I would definitely take the latter.

I agree with your conclusion, if the original net metering plan were still available I would have chosen that and no battery.  That plan along with a good generator, including an automatic transfer switch, would be perfectly adequate and much lower cost. The batteries in my system represented 56% of the cost of my system.