While the news describes the many advantages of “going solar,” no one talks about the unscrupulous way solar products are marketed. And upon moving to southern Nevada, we discover hard water doesn’t clean well and makes our skin itch. Salespeople come by, call, or send us flyers. At some point, we fall for the pitch and buy something that costs far more than it is worth because “it saves money,” and it is available with “easy financing.”

And we wish we had asked more questions. Often financing a solar or water treatment system puts a lien on our home. In some instances, the company that promised to service these systems disappeared. But the debt and the lien remain to ensure the finance company gets paid.