Different Kinds of SREC Brokers Out There!

I've been getting lots of questions from people who are signing up with SREC brokers who are offering deals which, let's say, aren't as good as the one I have. Immediately below I answered three questions that came in today. Then, rather than retype the same sentiments, I went back through my comments and dug up my best answer.

I apologize in advance for loving my broker, SRECTrade!

This question is from Jim in a comment posted today (June 2, 2010).

From your post, you are located in New Jersey. I have just received a proposal from my 'installer/broker' for a commission that is far greater than what you seem to be paying.

I have 3 questions:

1.) Are you receiving current (2010) market value for your SRECS?

Dave's answer: Yes. I sell my SRECS (well, my broker does ALL the work) every month at auction so I get the 2010 New Jersey market value (it's always been $660 or $665 so far.)

2.) How often are you making your SRECs available to the market? Monthly? quarterly?

Dave's answer: My SRECs sell in an auction every month.

3.) Regarding the paperwork - did you have all the information required readily available to you or did you have to dig for it?

Dave's answer: Once I signed on with my broker (SRECTrade) and filled out about 3 pages of forms that they sent, they did everything. I just sit back and wait for direct deposit.


Here's a more in-depth answer, which I copied from an older comment trail in the "1040 Good Buddy" post:

note: this reply will sound like a commercial for SRECTrade, the broker that handles my SRECs. I'm not associated with them in any way except as a customer -- but the fact is that they rock and I'm glad to endorse their services.]

First of all, don't worry about your SREC rotting away. You have plenty of time to decide how to sell these things.

I did research and decided to work with SRECTrade. I think they're fantastic. They'll hold your hand through signing up and all the red tape/paperwork. Then you can just sit back and read emails about the SRECs they've sold for you.

There are a lot of brokers out there. Some are like SRECTrade -- they take a very small commission and make their money by doing LOTS of transactions. With most of these, including SRECTrade, you are free to pull out of the arrangement any time.

The other ones are more old-fashioned. They don't want you to know the specifics, they just want you to commit to a long term arrangement (which usually benefits them a lot more than they benefit you, in my opinion.) My installer tried to push me into one of these. After I read the fine print I realized why -- they get a commission for the first two years of the contract. I thought it was a little shady.

Anyway, I am completely happy with SRECTrade. I can't imagine a better deal. I know it's possible to sell these on your own but the commission with SRECTrade is so small that I can't imagine going through all the hassle.

I hope I've helped. Feel free to ask me anything. I'm always happy to help!