2A. Getting Approved: Credit Parameters | LightReach Knowledge Base

A	Credit Requirements	660 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
B	Credit Validity	Credit valid 180 Days from initial run Once contract is executed, credit does not expire. (However, LightReach reserves the right to cancel files which do not achieve installation after an extended period of time--technically 160 days or longer. This is actively enforced.) No more than 3 active applications per client at any given time
C	Credit Application Requirements	Full Name & Basic Contact Information Last 4 digits of SSN Required Use full SSN to maximize success rate Maximum credit check rate limit of 6 on all accounts ITIN number not accepted
D	Credit-Based Customer Monthly Payment Caps	Limit on Monthly Payment Customer can have based on credit score returned: 660-674: $255* 675-699: $295 700+: No Monthly Max. Applies at total quote level (including adders such as storage/electrical upgrade) Higher of Co-applicants scores taken to establish monthly max payment amount. *See below for full details. Latest Update: 5/28/25
E	Signing Requirements	An email account Contract fully signed & executed in correct, full legal name ACH payment is inputted by the homeowner in the homeowner portal. (payment sign up via homeowner portal, either through the app or web dashboard. Steps outlined here.)

A	Approved Property Types	In general: Single family, fully-owned homes (residential). This is inclusive of: Primary residence Secondary residence Investment/rental properties (No more than 3 active applications per client at any given time) Multi Family (must be fully owned) C-Corp / S-Corp acceptable, but corp. officer must reside at property and be signatory on contract (other docs may be required) Trusts and LLC acceptable if homeowner on title is also a trustee or the controlling member.
B	Eligible Properties	View full eligible site details here

What are the Monthly Caps?:

Limits on Monthly Payment homeowner can have based on credit score returned:

FICO Credit Score	Monthly Max Payment
660-674	$255*
675-699	$295
700+	No Monthly Max

*Latest Update: 5/28/25

If the active quote exceeds the cap, Sales rep must reduce the monthly payment to get under cap or can run with a co-applicant (spouse) to see if they have a higher score.

How it Looks and Feels in the LightReach Portal (Click for Visuals)

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.

How will this work 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.

A	Approved LightReach methodology	Production model and inputs must be completed using a pre-approved methodology, including simulation settings and loss rates.
B	Random, Routine Testing	We will review a random sample of customer proposals to compare proposal, design and consumption models. This a) Allows Palmtto to better support customers on any claims post-activation, and b) Allows us to effectively 'test out' CDs by ensuring design models are executed accurately as told to LightReach.
C	Performance Verification Testing (PVT)	Performance verification allows us to underwrite Performance Guarantees. This also allows us to flag workmanship issues earlier and reduce liability to the partner while also removing friction from the QA process Certified Developers may need to correct issues identified through performance verification, but no specific deliverables are required. Partners will have right of first refusal to correct issues identified through PVT.

A	Where can I see specific design input criteria?	Search 'design' in this help center, or, navigate to the Operations section.
B	Are all states a PPA?	PLM's current product suite operates virtually identically, whether it is technically a PPA or Lease. This means that the value proposition and product details are interchangeable. For legal/technical purposes, the product is technically classified as a lease in some states. View applicable states in the "Active Utilities" article in this help center. For practical purposes, the distinction between our PPA and Lease are for state legal purposes. A PPA signifies "pay for power" whereas a Lease signifies "pay for use of equipment". Ostensible, the products amount to the same mathematics, value proposition. The only difference that may be worthy of note is how the escalator technically works: PPA: Escalator based on the kWh rate Lease: Escalator based on the total cost for the lease.
C	LightReach Reserved Right to Cancel an order	LightReach reserves the right to cancel files which do not achieve installation after an extended period of time--technically 160 days or longer. LightReach does not actively enforce this, barring extreme circumstance with the Certified Developer (reference 6.1.5) Internally, this relates to our capital providers and funding allocation caps. In short, capital is committed/allocated when a contract is signed. If we, for example, had a bad-actor-CD sign 100 customers, and after 200 days, nobody was installed, this could prevent us from allocating those loan funds to other, actually valid transactions. While this scenario is an extreme fringe scenario, and would likely be dealt with at a portfolio level, it's important for anyone operating at a CD level to have this internal knowledge in back of mind as it pertains to the question of credit validity. Cancellation Notifications are sent via email to the customer whenever an account is cancelled in the finance portal.
D	Can I have multiple sites/accounts for the same homeowner?	Yes, up to a maximum of 3 active applications per client. The customer will need a different email address for each unique property address. Example: 3 different property addresses = 3 different emails
E	How is the homeowner's credit checked?	We check both Transunion and Equifax at the same time, the highest score will be taken
F	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. Homeowners can visit this site to review more. Upon completion, a new credit application can be submitted: https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
G	Is storage permitted?	Yes, with certain parameters. Reference storage article for more details.
H	Ground mounts permitted?	Yes. Same credit/applicant requirements apply.
I	Soft Credit Check vs Hard Credit Check?	All Energy Plans feature a soft credit check. This means that there is no impact to the homeowner's credit score. Additionally, the PPA does not report as debt. Therefore, there is no consequence to simply seeing if a homeowner is qualified.
J	Maximum of 3 applications?	LightReach can accept up to 3 active credit applications at any given point. 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).
K	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.
L	Credit Results: Error	Special characters in the application will result with an error. [ie: commas, periods, asterisks, hyphens, etc.] Using periods in the city name will cause an error. Acceptable: "St Petersburg" or "Saint Petersburg" Unacceptable: "St. Petersburg"
M	What is the Max System Price?	The max EPC Total Payment price is $150,000, and deals sold higher are subject to stipulations and change orders.
N	Co-Applicants allowed?	Co-applicants are permitted-- see article 2B. in this sales section for requirements.
O	Who will receive the credit application email?	The application email will be sent only to the Primary Applicant.
P	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: LightReach account ID number EPC name (Org Name) Street address Projects cancelled before reaching the M0 milestone, will not receive a cancellation notice.