Replace a tired roof before the array, not after
Panels outlast most roof coverings. If yours is within a few years of the end of its life, replace it first. Removing and reinstalling an array to get at the roof underneath is a cost with no offsetting benefit whatsoever, and it is entirely avoidable while you are still quoting.
Ask for a condition assessment rather than an age estimate, and consider getting it from a roofer rather than only from the company selling you solar. Coastal Virginia weather ages a covering faster than the calendar suggests.
Ask how many layers of covering are present and what the structure underneath is, and whether anything needs reinforcement to carry the array. An installer who has not been on the roof cannot answer those questions.
If the roof does need work, coordinating both jobs is usually cheaper and less disruptive than doing them years apart. Ask the roofer and the installer to speak to each other about sequencing and about how the mounting will interact with the new covering.
How it attaches, and who stands behind it
Ask how mounting penetrations are flashed and sealed, and what method the roofing manufacturer approves for your covering type. If the roof is still under a manufacturer or builder warranty, establish the position before work begins rather than during a future claim.
Ask what the workmanship warranty covers on roof penetrations specifically, for how long, and who honours it. This is the warranty that matters most and the one people read least, because the failure it covers arrives years after everyone has stopped thinking about the installation.
Establish who honours each of the other warranties too. Panels, inverter and workmanship are commonly covered by three different parties on three different terms, and a company that has left the market cannot support a workmanship warranty however well drafted.
Get equipment specified by manufacturer and model number rather than by description. Model numbers are what make a warranty enforceable later and what let you compare two quotes on the same basis rather than on adjectives.
And the two numbers that constrain the design
Virginia Code Section 56-594 compensates a residential system of not more than 25 kW one-to-one at the retail rate, and systems are typically sized not to exceed the customer's annual consumption. So your last twelve months of bills are the right starting point rather than a generic profile.
If Dominion Energy bills you, there is a second and lower practical threshold. Residential systems greater than 15 kW AC in Dominion territory are subject to standby charges, with the amount depending on peak power demand used on site.
Appalachian Power and electric cooperative customers are not subject to demand charges, so confirm which utility serves your address before applying either number. Ask your installer which threshold their design was drawn against.
Net metering provisions have been under revision, so confirm the current terms with your utility before a design is finalised rather than relying on any guide, including this one.
Ask your locality about the property tax exemption
Virginia Code Section 58.1-3661 allows any county, city or town to exempt or partially exempt certified solar energy equipment from local property taxes by adopting an ordinance. This is the detail most often got wrong about Virginia solar, because it is a local option rather than a statewide rule.
A guide that tells you Virginia exempts solar from property tax is only right where the locality has actually adopted an ordinance, and it may be a partial exemption rather than a full one. Ask your county or city commissioner of the revenue directly whether an ordinance is in place and what it covers.
Where adopted, the exemption is effective beginning in the next succeeding tax year and is permitted for a term of not less than five years. Ask what term applies locally, since that is the horizon you can plan against.
On the federal side, the 30 percent 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.