Sunstone Credit, a commercial loan platform, launched Flex, a new financing product for energy-related projects such as HVAC, roofing, energy performance and EV charging. Flex gives commercial contractors a sales tool to close more jobs and offer customers flexible payment options without the challenges of traditional bank financing.
Sunstone Credit’s commercial financing platform has more than 1,000 solar contractor partners nationwide. Flex extends the reach of that platform beyond solar to finance a wider range of energy-related projects for commercial property owners, including multifamily, HOAs, religious institutions and nonprofits.
“Sunstone already has a thriving commercial solar finance business, with more than $2 billion in loan applications since inception, and we’re excited to bring the same model to HVAC, roofing, energy performance, EV charging, and other energy-related projects,” Josh Goldberg, co-founder and CEO of Sunstone Credit, said.
“Too often, mission-critical projects get delayed or canceled because of budget and cash flow constraints. We’re helping contractors win more bids and helping their customers get projects done without the friction of traditional financing.”
Commercial contractors routinely work with business owners who want to finance increasingly costly energy-related building projects (commercial construction inputs are up 56.4% since February 2020). Without financing to offer, contractors face a choice: lose the job, or ask the customer to find financing on their own, which they may or may not be able to do. Even when a customer does secure bank financing, it can take months to close, requires complex paperwork and often comes with terms such as liens on the property. Either way, projects stall or fall through.
Flex is an embedded financing product designed to help customers avoid the inconvenience and uncertainty of finding a lender and to give contractors an advantage over competitors that do not offer financing.
With project sizes up to $6 million and terms up to 15 years, Flex also makes larger scopes of work easier for customers to approve. This allows contractors to expand a roof repair into a full replacement, upgrade an HVAC project to higher-end equipment, or add battery storage or EV charging to an existing system.
To offer financing through Sunstone, contractors first complete an online partner application. Once approved, contractors can start offering financing options to customers within 24 hours.
