Three separate things to establish
First, who owns the array. It may be owned outright, financed with a loan, or subject to a lease or power purchase agreement. Under a lease or PPA you do not get the array by buying the house, and would generally have to qualify for and assume the agreement or buy it out.
Second, what arrangement the property is on for net metering, and how it transfers. Maryland credits exported solar at the retail rate under a framework administered by the Public Service Commission, so ask the utility directly what applies at the address.
Third, and most often overlooked, who receives the SRECs. The system will have been registered with the Maryland Public Service Commission and enrolled in PJM Interconnection's GATS, and the certificates may have been assigned to an aggregator under an agreement with years left to run.
Ask for the SREC arrangement in writing: who is registered as the owner, whether the certificates are assigned to anyone, how long that agreement runs, and what happens to it on a sale. A seller may not know, which is itself a useful thing to discover.
The documents that make a system worth buying
Ask for the permits, the inspection sign-offs, the interconnection approval, the PSC registration and GATS enrolment, and the equipment specifications with model numbers. A system without documentation is difficult to warranty, difficult to service and difficult to sell on again.
Establish who honours each warranty and how much term remains. Panels, inverter and workmanship are commonly covered by three different parties, and a company that has left the market cannot support a workmanship warranty however well written.
Ask for production history if any exists. Actual generation over a year or two is far better evidence than a projection, and a system that has quietly underperformed is worth knowing about while you can still act on it.
Ask about the roof underneath. If the covering is near the end of its life you will eventually pay to remove and reinstall the array, which is a real cost attached to the house that a listing will not mention.
And if you are the one selling
Assemble that same file before you list. A system with clean documentation, a clear ownership position and a stated SREC arrangement is a straightforward asset. One with none of that is an unknown a buyer will discount.
If your certificates are assigned to an aggregator, read the agreement now rather than during a transaction. Ask how long it runs, what happens on a sale, and whether it can be transferred or terminated, so you can answer a buyer accurately.
Under Maryland Tax-Property Article Section 7-242, residential solar energy property is not subject to real property tax, which is worth pointing out to a buyer since it removes an objection people often raise about improvements being reassessed.
Be careful describing the savings. Your figures reflect your household consumption, your net metering history and SREC prices at the time you sold them, and SREC prices move with the market. Describe what the system does rather than what it paid you.
The rebate to claim, and the exemptions that need no application
The Maryland Energy Administration Residential Clean Energy Rebate Program pays $1,000 for a qualifying residential solar system. The condition to settle before you choose an installer is that the installation must be completed by an installer certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, because nothing recovers the rebate afterwards if it was not.
The system must also be at your primary residential property and at least 1 kilowatt, and the application must reach the MEA within 12 months of installation. It is first come, first served, so confirm the current funding status rather than treating $1,000 as an entitlement.
Under Maryland Tax-Property Article Section 7-242, residential solar energy property is not subject to real property tax and solar energy equipment is exempt from the state sales and use tax. Neither arrives as a payment, so check your quote reflects the sales tax exemption and add the property tax treatment to your own arithmetic.
The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D expired for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a cash or loan purchase now receives no federal credit. Section 48E survives at 30 percent for third-party owners under leases and power purchase agreements, so ask any such provider what they claim and what of that value reaches you, and confirm with a tax advisor.