Solar Lender Dealer Fee Schedule Matrix [2026 Rate Sheet]

Financial analyst reviewing printed solar financing dealer fee percentage matrix and amortization schedules

Disclaimer: The fee matrices and data schedules presented in this guide are derived from public civil litigation filings, state attorney general enforcement exhibits, and lender partner rate sheets. This article is educational consumer protection material, not financial advice.

Overview

When solar salespeople pitch homeowners with slogans like "Own solar for just 2.99% APR!" or "Zero money down with low-interest clean energy financing," they rarely explain how that low interest rate exists in a high-rate economic environment.

The secret mechanism is the lender dealer fee (also called an origination fee, merchant fee, or contractor discount fee). Solar finance companies - including GoodLeap, Solar Mosaic, Sunlight Financial, Dividend Finance, and Enium Capital - charge installers an upfront fee ranging from 15% to 38% of the system cost to offer low promotional APRs.

Because the installer cannot absorb this massive fee, they secretly add it to your cash price before generating your loan agreement. A homeowner buying a $30,000 system signs a loan principal for $42,800 without ever being informed that $12,800 was paid directly to the lender on day one.

This guide publishes the comparative dealer fee matrix, explains how these fees violate state and federal lending laws, and provides steps to challenge hidden loan markups.

Key Points

The Inverse Rate Rule The lower the promotional APR offered, the higher the dealer fee baked into your loan principal. A 1.99% to 2.99% 25-year solar loan carries up to a 36% upfront surcharge.
The True Cost Homeowners paying off a low-APR loan early (such as when selling their home or refinancing) lose thousands because the upfront fee was already capitalized into the principal.
State AG Lawsuits Attorneys general across the nation (such as the landmark Minnesota AG action against GoodLeap, Sunlight, Mosaic, and Dividend) allege that concealing dealer fees constitutes deceptive trade practices and civil consumer fraud.
Federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) Under TILA regulations (12 CFR § 1026.4), finance charges imposed directly or indirectly as an incident to credit must be disclosed as part of the Annual Percentage Rate, not buried in the cash price.

Comparative Solar Dealer Fee Matrix by APR (2026 Benchmarks)

Table 1: Lender Dealer Fee Surcharges by Advertised APR & Term

Advertised APR	Loan Term	Average Upfront Dealer Fee (%)	Cash Price ($30,000 System)	Total Financed Principal Signed
1.99% – 2.99%	25 Years	30% – 38%	$30,000	$42,800 – $48,300
3.49% – 4.49%	25 Years	24% – 29%	$30,000	$39,400 – $42,200
4.99% – 5.99%	20–25 Years	18% – 23%	$30,000	$36,500 – $38,900
6.49% – 7.49%	20 Years	12% – 16%	$30,000	$34,000 – $35,700
8.99%+ (Market)	15–20 Years	0% – 5%	$30,000	$30,000 – $31,500

Notice: When you agree to a 2.99% rate, your loan balance immediately jumps by over $12,800 compared to paying cash. Unless you stay in the home for the full 25-year amortization period, taking the lower rate is mathematically catastrophic.

Consumer Protection Insight

Got Screwed on Solar? Don’t Let the Next Person Who Makes Money From Your Problem Be Your Lawyer.

The solar salesperson was paid. The installer was paid. The finance company drafts money from your account every month. And when you look for a solar lawyer, the conversation often turns to retainers, hourly rates, and money upfront.

Before paying a lawyer out of pocket, there is a critical question worth asking:

“Could any applicable law, based on your facts and jurisdiction, allow attorney fees to be sought from the other side?”

Asking you to pay is simple. Evaluating potential statutory fee-shifting under state UDAP laws, TILA, and deceptive trade practices requires investigating your actual contract and disclosures.

Build My Solar Case → Confidential · 100% Free Case Dossier Organization · No Upfront Retainer Required

Company-by-Company Lender Fee Mechanics

1. GoodLeap (formerly Loanpal)

Partner Tiering GoodLeap offers tiered pricing sheets to installers (Gold, Platinum, Preferred). Installers with higher complaint volumes or smaller operations are charged higher dealer fees, which are passed directly to homeowners.
Litigation Spotlight GoodLeap has faced multiple state regulatory investigations and class action disputes alleging deceptive marketing of low promotional rates while concealing the cash price difference.

2. Solar Mosaic

Financing Portals Mosaic utilizes point-of-sale software integrations with installer sales proposals (such as Aurora Solar and Solo). When the salesperson toggles from 7.99% to 2.99%, the proposal software silently recalculates the system price upward behind the scenes.
Prepayment Penalties While Mosaic loans do not contain traditional early payoff penalty clauses, the dealer fee acts as an unavoidable de facto prepayment penalty if you sell or refinance your home within 5 to 10 years.

3. Sunlight Financial

Bank Partners Sunlight acts as a third-party loan originator and servicer for partner banks like Cross River Bank. In ongoing litigation, homeowners report discovering that their signed loan balance was thousands of dollars higher than the proposal quote because the installer selected a higher dealer-fee program without authorization.

How to Check If Your Solar Loan Has a Concealed Dealer Fee

Compare Cash vs. Loan Documents Request the original signed solar installation proposal and the final Truth in Lending disclosure. If the "Cash Option" was $26,000 and the "Amount Financed" is $37,000 before interest, that $11,000 gap is the lender dealer fee.
Review the Dealer Fee Disclosure Form In some states, lenders now require a separate "Dealer Fee Acknowledgment" signature. In hundreds of public complaints, homeowners report this document was electronically signed via forged DocuSign or never presented during the sales pitch.
Inspect the Contractor Settlement Sheet In civil litigation, attorneys subpoena the Funding Settlement Sheet between the lender and installer, which shows the exact wire transfer amount (e.g., the lender paid the contractor $28,000 but created a loan for $40,000).

Evidence-First Intake

Their Shortcut Is Your Wallet. Our Starting Point Is Your Evidence.

Why call Firm #1… then Firm #2… then Firm #3 repeating your story, uploading files over and over, and waiting to see who is interested?

The Old Way

“Please take my case. How much is your retainer?”

Homeowners get screened for how much money they can fund upfront before anyone reviews the disclosures.

The Informed Starting Point

“Here are the facts and documents I have. Is this something you can evaluate?”

Build your timeline and file once. Let participating firms review the documentation and decide whether to reach out.

Build My Solar Case File → Upload documents once · Direct review by participating consumer-protection firms

Legal Remedies: Getting Dealer Fees Refunded or Discharged

If your solar loan contains an undisclosed dealer fee:

The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) Rescission Claim Under 15 U.S.C. § 1635, if material finance charge disclosures are inaccurate or concealed, the statutory rescission period can be extended from 3 days to up to 3 years.
State UDAP / Deceptive Trade Practices Filing a state attorney general complaint or civil claim under state consumer protection acts (such as California UCL § 17200 or Florida FDUTPA) for deceptive price inflation.
FTC Holder Rule (16 CFR Part 433) Because solar loans are subject to the Holder Rule, you can raise the installer's fraudulent pricing claims directly against the lender to cancel the debt. Compare specific lender vulnerabilities in our GoodLeap vs. Mosaic vs. Sunlight Dispute Guide and our ranked analysis of the Top 5 Ways to Cancel a Solar Contract.

FAQ

Is it legal for solar companies to charge a dealer fee?

In general commercial lending, dealer fees are legal provided they are transparently disclosed as a finance charge. What is illegal is concealing the fee, falsely telling the consumer that the cash price and loan price are identical, or forging financing disclosures.

Does paying off a solar loan early save money on the dealer fee?

No. Because the dealer fee is capitalized into the principal balance on day one, you must pay the entire inflated principal even if you pay off the loan in month three.

How do I check if my solar loan qualifies for a dealer fee refund?

If your financed solar loan balance is substantially higher than the cash value of the equipment, use our secure eligibility intake review to examine your contract and loan documents.

Standardized Case Preparation

Understand the Possibilities Before You Pay to Proceed.

The solar company has lawyers. The finance company has lawyers. You should have an opportunity to understand your own situation too—before assuming you must fund all legal costs yourself.

Question Fee-Shifting

Asking for a retainer is simple. But state UDAP laws, TILA § 130, and consumer statutes often allow attorney fees to be sought from the fraudulent company.

Build Your Evidence

Not how much is in your bank account, but what did they promise? What did you sign? Did your electric bill drop as promised? Where are the texts and proposals?

Build It Once

Stop repeating your trauma to Firm #1, #2, and #3. Tell your story once, upload documents once, and let participating law firms evaluate whether to reach out.

Read the complete fee-shifting & legal cost explainer ▼

The solar salesperson may have been paid. The installer may have been paid. The finance company may be taking money from you every month. And now you have reason to believe something is seriously wrong.

So you Google: “Solar fraud lawyer.” And what happens next? You tell someone your story. They ask a few questions. And eventually, the conversation turns to: How are you going to pay for legal services? Retainer. Hourly rate. Money upfront.

Those arrangements may be appropriate in some matters. But before assuming that paying a lawyer is your only option, ask: “Could any applicable law, based on the facts and jurisdiction, allow attorney fees to be sought from the other side?”

The answer depends on the law, the contract, the claims available, the evidence, and the outcome. Asking you to pay is simple. Evaluating potential fee-shifting requires investigating your contract, financing terms, utility bills, texts, cancellation attempts, and consumer-protection statutes.

Their shortcut is your wallet. Our starting point is your evidence. Tell your story once. Upload your documents once. Build the timeline once. SolarPanelScams.com helps organize the information and prepare the matter for potential attorney review.

Let THEM decide whether to reach out. Then you decide whom, if anyone, you want to speak with.

BUILD MY SOLAR CASE →

You may already have paid the solar company, installer, or finance provider. Before committing additional money, make sure you understand what options may be available to you.

Disclaimer: SolarPanelScams.com is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. It does not determine whether a claim exists, whether attorney fees may be recoverable, whether a matter qualifies for representation or whether any result is likely. Potential attorney-fee recovery and representation depend on applicable law, facts, claims, evidence, procedure and outcome. Participating law firms may decline to review or accept a matter. No result is guaranteed.