This guide outlines the key steps for preparing and setting expectations when selling the Puerto Rico Main Line program.
It highlights qualification standards, homeowner web portal account, contract and portal processes, performance guaranty, and billing timelines. These points must be addressed with customers to ensure eligibility and avoid delays.
1) Qualifying: Credit Parameters
700 FICO Credit Score (Highest Score: Transunion and Equifax)*
Soft credit inquiry (no impact on homeowner credit score)
No bankruptcies (7-Year Lookback)
Debt-to-Income (DTI) Not Factored
No “Terms & Conditions” form required
Homeowner must be on title
Home is an approved type (in general, single family, fully owned. Installer responsible for affirming site eligibility)
Credit Based Payment Caps
Limits on Monthly Payment homeowner can have based on credit score returned:
FICO Credit Score | Monthly Max Payment |
700-724 | $295 |
725+ | $500 |
Latest Update: 2/5/2026
If the active quote exceeds the cap, Sales rep must reduce the monthly payment or system size to get under cap. Alternatively, if a qualified co-applicant is available, attempting to run with a co-applicant may result in a higher score.
*exclusive for the Puerto Rico market.
How it works in LR portal and external sales portal:
How it works in LR portal and external sales portal:
In the LightReach Portal:
Process A (Run Credit, Create Quote) : Sales rep on the LightReach platform runs credit, then creates a quote, they’ll see this message that lets them know pricing has been restricted due to credit application when using the quoting tool.
No Pricing Options: This error message will appear when all pricing options exceed this customer's maximum monthly payment cap. In this case the System Size or Year 1 estimated production would need to be lowered so that pricing options come in below the customers cap or an additional credit check with a co-applicant (must be spouse) can be run to see if they have a higher score.
Process B (Create Quote, Run Credit): Sales rep on the LightReach portal creates a quote, and then runs credit and the result returned is outside of the monthly cap they’ll see this message and be unable to send a quote.
On an External sales portal:
If quote is being created in external portal (Solo, Enerflo, Aurora, etc) the available pricing options will be limited based on pricing caps, if a quote created is above the allowed cap, the sales rep will receive an error message when trying to send the contract.
2) Homeowner Web Portal Account
Instant sign up at point of sale
Instant upload and fulfillment of NTP requirements & Agreement Confirmation
Homeowner portal link: https://home.palmetto.com/
3) Signing & Fulfilling Requirements
Simple Energy Plan contract sent via the Palmetto Finance portal
NTP Requirements fulfilled via the web portal account
Identity verification required
ACH banking information is required on all sales
Check the Completing NTP (M0) Requirements article for steps on how customer can complete these administrative tasks
Sales Rep Recheck Verification article is a how to guide for sales reps
4) Performance Guarantee with Protect
Includes 25 year, 90% Performance Guarantee* (*unless prohibited by state) as part of our most robust Protect package
3 Year True Ups, if necessary
5) Billing
First Payment Expectations: First payment typically due 30 days after the system is issued PTO. Customers generally receive their first bill/invoice approximately 15 days after granted PTO.
30 Day billing cycles, with 15 day payment terms
Billing details available via homeowner's portal (home.palmetto.com)
| Question | Answer |
1 | Why do homeowners have to link their ACH/bank account? | This ensures secure payment information on all accounts. ACH is needed at the point of sale, as it is an NTP milestone requirement for Certified Installers. |
2 | What happens if payment is late? | If payment is late for any reason, homeowners are given sensible leeway to re-link payment and bring their account up to date. |
3 | UCC-1 Fixture Filing? | The UCC-1 fixture filing on the solar equipment is the solar financier's stake in the equipment.
The UCC-1 fixture filing is done after install is deemed complete. It is a standard filing among industry financiers.
Homeowners going through a refinance or mortgage process may have a loan officer come across the UCC-1 fixture filing across the solar equipment and may, incorrectly, deem that it's a lien on the residence. However, it is not and should not prevent refinance. It is important to note that in many cases this is quite literally a matter of knowledge/conceptual understanding on the side of the mortgage officer.
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4 | How are true-ups completed? What if my homeowner over-produces vs estimate? | If necessary, 3-year production true ups are completed via bill credit.
Overproduce? Great! There is no penalty for overproducing. However, overproduction is 'banked' against any potential future-underproduction. |
5 | What happens if my customer has down time? | If necessary, 3-year production true ups are completed via bill credit. Temporary outages such as from storms, maintenance, etc. are ultimately factored in at this juncture.
Should an extended outage occur, LightReach will work with homeowners, if necessary, on shorter term true ups in extreme circumstances. However, in most cases, any 'lost' production due to down time will simply be accounted for in routine true ups, if necessary.
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6 | Homeowner first bill? | In most instances*, first bill will come approx. 15 days after PTO granted.
In general, setting the expectation that a first payment will come due approximately 30 days after PTO is appropriate.
However, this assumes that the installer submits for Activation M2 Approval to LightReach in a reasonably timely manner. In the event of a severe Activation M2 Submission delay by the installer, it is technically possible for the customer to receive a delayed first bill beyond the usual ~30 day timeframe after PTO.
The customer will receive notice of their first bill via mail regardless of autopay or ACH status. |
7 | Does the Lease/PPA payment appear on the homeowner's credit? | No, the LightReach product does not report as a debt. There is no consequence to simply seeing if a homeowner is qualified. |
8 | Alternatives to ACH? | ACH is an NTP (M0) requirement for all customers. No other payment setup methods are accepted at this time.
In the event of extenuating circumstances, LightReach will reasonably work with a homeowner in the event that ACH payment is not possible after activation. However, customers will need to contact our CX teams directly, after activation. This should not be set as an expectation for new homeowners.
In such scenarios, homeowners may void their $15 monthly discount, which is automatically baked in to their payment as outlined in the contract. |
9 | Sales tax on Lease/PPA? | Sales tax is excluded from the contract due to potential rate changes over time. It appears as a separate line item on the monthly bill. Currently, the sales tax fields in the contract are set to $0. |
11 | Can the Trust/LLC sign? | No, the customer/homeowner themselves must sign (IE a person). Trusts and LLC guidelines for title purposes are listed above. |
12 |
| Yes, up to a maximum of 3 active applications per client. The customer will need a different email address for each unique property address.
Additional homes (IE 4+) can be accepted after the first 3 applications have been PTOd + completed payments on time for 3 months. After the 3 month period, additional homes/applications can be accepted (to the maximum of 3 at any given time). |
13 | How is the homeowner's credit checked? | We check both Transunion and Equifax at the same time, the highest score will be taken |
14 | Homeowner has frozen credit? | In the event a homeowner has frozen their credit reports, they will need to unfreeze directly with the bureau(s) in order to proceed. |
15 | Credit Results: Applicant Not Found | This is typically associated with situations whereby only the last 4 digits were used.
The next step would be to run with full SSN (it's a soft check entirely, so no impact to the homeowner to rerun credit).
There are some situations whereby the homeowner has no credit history at all, we can't pull a result. |
16 | Credit Results: Error |
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17 | What is the Max System Price? | We do not have a max system price. The max customer monthly payment is $500, and deals sold higher are subject to stipulations and change orders. |
18 |
| The application email will be sent only to the Primary Applicant. |
19 | My customer's score has improved. When can they re-apply? | Customers are free to re-apply at anytime as credit reports are updated periodically. However, it is important to note that recent changes might not be reflected if a credit check is performed immediately after a credit event. |
20 | Will Customer Receive a Cancellation Notice? | Cancellation Notifications are sent via email to the customer whenever an account is cancelled in the finance portal and has previously reached the M0 milestone. Included in the communication will be:
Projects cancelled before reaching the M0 milestone, will not receive a cancellation notice. |
21 | I see DOB, is this required? | No, DOB is optional, but may help in providing favorable results. |