Kia Love didn’t set out to fight the solar industry.

In 2016, she was a single mom in Florida, living on a fixed income as a disabled Army veteran. Solar was pitched to her as a clean-energy upgrade that would do something simple and immediate: erase her electric bill.

Instead, she says it doubled her payments.

“After I got the panels on the roof, there was no drop in the bill. The bill was exactly the same… I went from a high electricity bill to paying a high electricity bill plus the $175 for the solar panels. said Love.

Now, almost a decade later, Love is trying to sell her home and says a filing tied to her solar loan is making that harder. Meanwhile, some of the biggest solar lenders in the country have filed for bankruptcy, raising a question consumers across Florida are now asking: If the company that financed your solar goes under… what happens to your loan, and what happens to your home?

Love says the entire deal started the way many solar complaints do: with a salesperson who showed up unannounced.

“The solicitor solicited my door; he was very convincing. He told me all these things how the bill was going to be and they can cut my bill to zero,” Love explained.

For her, the idea wasn’t just environmental. It was stability.

“It was a dream come true. We can not have to struggle with the electricity,” said Love.

However, for Love, the savings never came and for years, she couldn’t prove why.

“I kept telling them there’s no difference in the bill and they kept confirming that there’s nothing wrong with the panels. This went on for maybe seven years,” said Love.

Eventually, she paid to have the panels cleaned. That’s when a technician told her something had been installed improperly.

“All of a sudden the solar panels were working,” said Love.

Even then, the savings weren’t close to what she was sold.

“I didn’t drop the bill to zero; it probably took off maybe $50 off. My bill was still $ 200-something dollars,” said Love.

As summer demand pushed costs back up, she said the solar payment stayed.

“It’s up… maybe $250. I was really tired of paying this $175 a month for these panels,” said Love.

A central part of Love’s sales pitch, she says, was the federal incentive.

She describes a two-step payment structure: a low introductory payment, then a higher long-term payment after she applied a promised benefit.

“The salesman said, first two years it will be $80 a month, and that would give me two years to apply the government kickback. But in actuality, that was false; I found out I was ineligible because my disabled veteran income didn’t qualify,” said Love.

Love says when the credit didn’t apply, her loan balance ballooned.

“The loan amount after two years went from $16,000 to over $24,000, and the bill went to $175 a month,” said Love.

And she says that’s when “solar savings” turned into a monthly squeeze.

“I was pinching by, and I just couldn’t do that anymore,” said Love.

The combined cost of her electric bill plus the solar loan sometimes pushed her household into survival mode.

“My daughter and I went through like almost two years of no air conditioning because I couldn’t afford to turn it on, and we’re in Florida; that was rough,” said Love.

The bankruptcy of a lender doesn’t necessarily end a consumer’s obligation. Love says her contract allowed her solar debt to be transferred.

“They switched their entity from Mosaic Solar to Solar Servicing without a break in service; they continued to collect,” Love explained.

Attorney Joshua Horton says that is often the point: the debt survives even when the original company does not.

“They build these giant portfolios of unsecured debt, and then before the bubble burst they start selling off assets to different corporations before filing bankruptcy,” said Horton.

Horton says homeowners can end up with panels that don’t work, installers that disappear, warranties that evaporate and payments that continue because the loan was sold.

“The debt is then sold to third-party investors who will continue to collect on the debt, despite getting none of the benefits that they were promised,” said Horton.

The UCC-1 filing: the ‘golden handcuffs’ problem

Love says one of the most immediate impacts isn’t only the bill; it’s the cloud now hanging over her home.

“They haven’t removed the UCC lien from my property, which is going to affect me when I’m trying to sell my home,” said Love.

Horton explains the UCC-1 filing is not a lien in the traditional sense, but he says it can still stop a sale or refinance.

“It operates as a lien. They can prevent you from refinancing, from selling your home; it clouds the title,” said Horton

That’s why Love worries it may already be costing her.

“My house has been sitting on the market for over 60 days. People love the home and then disappear. I wouldn’t be surprised if their realtor is seeing that filing on the house,” said Love.

Horton says he hears the same story repeatedly.

“The most frequent issues we have are door-to-door solicitations where the electric bills are promised to be eliminated; they’re gonna get a rebate, which is not a rebate, is a tax credit,” said Horton.

He says many of his clients are exactly the people most likely to be harmed by a pitch built around tax benefits.

“Most of my clients are elderly, a lot of disabled veterans, they’re on fixed incomes… they’re not eligible for these tax credits,” Horton explained.

Horton says another layer is how the contracts are presented: not as two separate agreements (solar installation + financing), but as one seamless “sign here” moment.

“They’re selling not just the panels; they’re selling a financial product. It’s two different agreements, but it’s all the same iPad nobody reads the disclaimers,” said Horton.

He points to Florida’s short three-day right to cancel and the fact that installation doesn’t happen within that window.

“The panels obviously are not on their house within three days, so they blow that window,” said Horton.

When asked where the problem with solar starts, Horton didn’t pin it on one thing.

“I think it’s all of the above: some of the equipment is good, but the problem is they’re over-promised by people that probably aren’t qualified to install these anyway, the correct inverters weren’t used, electrical boxes aren’t updated correctly. Homes catch on fire; a lot of leaks from damage since they’re not affixed to the property properly,” Horton explained.

He also raised concerns about what consumers believe they’re paying for versus what the contractor actually receives.

“The consumer thinks the loan amount is one amount. But that’s not what’s actually being disbursed. They think they’ve got a loan for $70,000 but the contractor’s really only getting 50 to $55,000, and the rest of it is being withheld by some of these lenders. That’s never disclosed to the consumer. It’s just a fee that the lender’s getting off the top,” said Horton.

For anyone considering solar, Love says “slow down.”

“Definitely don’t believe everything that the salesperson is telling you. Read up on regulations, tax credits, figure out if you’re eligible, read all of the fine print and don’t let them rush you,” said Love.

Horton is more blunt about the financing pipeline.

“Don’t do it. Don’t sign anything from anybody knocking on your door. Have it reviewed by an attorney it’s worth the price to keep you from making a six-figure mistake that puts an encumbrance on your home,” said Horton.

If someone is already trapped, Horton says options may include litigation, but also administrative complaints and disputes.

“Report complaints to the Florida Attorney General’s Office Consumer Division. There are protections; if they’re military veterans, the Department of Agriculture has a military consumer protection organization. I have them file disputes with their credit, because they’ve been defrauded; they need to dispute the debt with them as well,” said Horton.

Consumer checklist: If someone knocks on your door offering solar

• Don’t sign the same day. Take the paperwork, read it, and compare multiple companies.
• Confirm your system sizing. Ask for a written estimate showing how many panels/kW you need and what bill reduction is realistically expected.
• Verify the tax credit rules for your household. Ask a qualified tax professional whether you can actually use the credit.
• Ask who owns what. Is it a loan, lease, or other agreement, and who owns the panels?
• Ask about UCC filings in writing. Will a UCC-1 be filed? What does it take to remove it if you sell?
• Get the warranty and service plan in writing. Who services the system if the installer disappears?
• Understand the “three-day” window. If your contract has a cancellation period, know exactly how it works and how you must notify the company.

Click here for the U.S. Department of Energy Consumer’s Guide to Buying a House with Solar Panels.