Just wrapped up a heat pump installation on my triple-decker in Massachusetts through MassSave with NETR (recently merged with Sila). The timeline and settlement process had serious issues worth sharing.

Intention of this post: Warnings about this specific contractor and general advice for anyone doing heat pump installations through Mass Save. Posting this because I wish I'd known these things before starting.

Project overview:

• Triple-decker, 3 apartments
• ~$107k total project
• Quoted 2 months, took 8 months
• Mass Save rebates + GreenSky financing

Issue 1: Code violation in initial design

NETR's original electrical design placed equipment within the required setback from the property line, violating Somerville code. The original plan submitted to Eversource could not have met code requirements given the property layout.

This required:

• Complete redesign and Eversource resubmission (~7 week delay)
• Frantic last-minute neighbor coordination (temporary fence removal, documented encroachment with city). NETR supervisor on site ended up recommending going back to the drawing board and moving the electrical equipment to the other side of the house.
• My direct intervention with Eversource management to get revised permit scheduled. A lot of back-and-forth with both NETR and Eversource here. I had to intervene and escalate to get this moving.

This was really frustrating - it was an assessment error in the initial design and created a huge mess affecting multiple parties. Be ready and aware of any potential code issues. They wanted to remove my neighbor's fence.

Issue 2: Failed inspections

The electrical work failed inspection multiple times, requiring multiple days of corrective work before passing.

NETR pressured for payment before inspections, citing "substantial completion." Had I paid then, I would have had no leverage to ensure the failed work was corrected.

After the first failed inspection, the electrical inspector told me: "Not paying them is the smartest thing you did. Don't pay them until they close both permits." I didn't even know there was a building permit in addition to the electrical permit until the inspector told me this. This was critical advice that protected me.

Important: If you skip inspections, you’ll be left paying for any problems years later when you try to sell your house. So maintain your leverage ($$$) until everything is actually closed with the city. You can call your city to check if the permits are actually closed.

Issue 3: Settlement & gaslighting

After 8 months, I requested compensation for the delays and coordination burden. Here's what happened:

NETR initially offered $1,000 (~1% discount) and stated the encroachment delay was due to "my preference" not their design error.

They initially offered to send a foreman to review the project timeline together. After I provided documentation correcting their characterization of events, they:

• Withdrew the foreman visit offer
• Claimed that my neighbor was ok with the encroachment, so it was still my preference to move the electrical equipment.
  • (This was the weirdest claim they made - they never talked to my neighbor. The neighbor was ok with removing the fence if we replaced it, documented the encroachment with the city, and paid for any future code violations stemming from the encroachment - reasonable and enough to justify not doing this and moving the electrical equipment.)
• Increased the discount to $1,500
• After we told them that a $1,500 discount for all our troubles was not sufficient, they Issued a 24-hour deadline to accept or face "legal counsel escalation"

We accepted $1,500 to close the matter. But the pattern - mischaracterizing their design error as customer preference, refusing to review documentation together, imposing an arbitrary 24-hour deadline - was unprofessional and inappropriate for a project of this scale.

Overall

We went with NETR precisely because we wanted a good system installed by a trusted company. However, I cannot in good faith recommend them. They also merged with Sila, who is now majority-owned by Goldman Sachs' private equity arm (as of November 2024), so their incentives have shifted significantly from the type of company they once were.

To be clear: The heat pumps work well now that everything's properly installed and inspected. NETR did eventually complete the work. But the execution issues and settlement process are worth documenting for others.

Key takeaways:

1. Payment timing is critical. Do not pay until both electrical AND building inspections pass. You need that leverage if corrections are required. The electrical inspector's advice was invaluable here - I didn't even know about the second permit requirement. I actually partially paid halfway through. There’s no reason to do that, and they might pressure you to.

2. Documentation matters. I had emails and filings showing the actual sequence of events when facts were disputed.

3. Don’t fall for artificial deadlines and pressure tactics. A 24-hour ultimatum on a months-long project dispute has no legitimate basis. But we did not want to face further emotional and legal costs so we settled.

4. Verify commitments in writing. The foreman visit offer was withdrawn once documentation contradicted their narrative.

5. Plan for significant timeline overruns. 2 months became 8 months due to execution errors, not external factors.

6. Expect to spend a lot of your own time moving things along. We repeatedly had to be the intermediaries between the different actors, otherwise things would stall.

---

Mass Save rebates are valuable and the program works well. But on a $100k project affecting multiple households, contractor selection and contract protections matter significantly. Choose carefully and protect yourself with payment timing.

Happy to answer questions about inspections, timeline, or lessons learned.

Just wrapped up a heat pump installation on my triple-decker through Mass Save with NETR (recently merged with Sila). The timeline and settlement process had serious issues worth sharing.

Intention of this post: Warnings about this specific contractor and general advice for anyone doing heat pump installations through Mass Save. Posting this because I wish I'd known these things before starting.

Project overview:

• Triple-decker, 3 apartments
• ~$107k total project
• Quoted 2 months, took 8 months
• Mass Save rebates + GreenSky financing

Issue 1: Code violation in initial design

NETR's original electrical design placed equipment within the required setback from the property line, violating Somerville code. The original plan submitted to Eversource could not have met code requirements given the property layout.

This required:

• Complete redesign and Eversource resubmission (~7 week delay)
• Frantic last-minute neighbor coordination (temporary fence removal, documented encroachment with city). NETR supervisor on site ended up recommending going back to the drawing board and moving the electrical equipment to the other side of the house.
• My direct intervention with Eversource management to get revised permit scheduled. A lot of back-and-forth with both NETR and Eversource here. I had to intervene and escalate to get this moving.

This was really frustrating - it was an assessment error in the initial design and created a huge mess affecting multiple parties. Be ready and aware of any potential code issues. They wanted to remove my neighbor's fence.

Issue 2: Failed inspections

The electrical work failed inspection multiple times, requiring multiple days of corrective work before passing.

NETR pressured for payment before inspections, citing "substantial completion." Had I paid then, I would have had no leverage to ensure the failed work was corrected.

After the first failed inspection, the electrical inspector told me: "Not paying them is the smartest thing you did. Don't pay them until they close both permits." I didn't even know there was a building permit in addition to the electrical permit until the inspector told me this. This was critical advice that protected me.

Important: If you skip inspections, you’ll be left paying for any problems years later when you try to sell your house. So maintain your leverage ($$$) until everything is actually closed with the city. You can call your city to check if the permits are actually closed.

Issue 3: Settlement & gaslighting

After 8 months, I requested compensation for the delays and coordination burden. Here's what happened:

NETR initially offered $1,000 (~1% discount) and stated the encroachment delay was due to "my preference" not their design error.

They initially offered to send a foreman to review the project timeline together. After I provided documentation correcting their characterization of events, they:

• Withdrew the foreman visit offer
• Claimed that my neighbor was ok with the encroachment, so it was still my preference to move the electrical equipment.
  • (This was the weirdest claim they made - they never talked to my neighbor. The neighbor was ok with removing the fence if we replaced it, documented the encroachment with the city, and paid for any future code violations stemming from the encroachment - reasonable and enough to justify not doing this and moving the electrical equipment.)
• Increased the discount to $1,500
• After we told them that a $1,500 discount for all our troubles was not sufficient, they Issued a 24-hour deadline to accept or face "legal counsel escalation"

We accepted $1,500 to close the matter. But the pattern - mischaracterizing their design error as customer preference, refusing to review documentation together, imposing an arbitrary 24-hour deadline - was unprofessional and inappropriate for a project of this scale.

Other delays:

• Missed November 24th inspector callback (multiple weeks added)
• Equipment measurement error requiring swap (10+ days AFTER moving it to the other side of the house)
• Multiple scheduling failures requiring my intervention

Overall: We went with NETR precisely because we wanted a good system installed by a trusted company. However, I cannot in good faith recommend them. They also merged with Sila, who is now majority-owned by Goldman Sachs' private equity arm (as of November 2024), so their incentives have shifted significantly from the type of company they once were.

To be clear: The heat pumps work well now that everything's properly installed and inspected. NETR did eventually complete the work. But the execution issues and settlement process are worth documenting for others.

Key takeaways:

1. Payment timing is critical. Do not pay until both electrical AND building inspections pass. You need that leverage if corrections are required. The electrical inspector's advice was invaluable here - I didn't even know about the second permit requirement. I actually partially paid halfway through. There’s no reason to do that, and they might pressure you to.

2. Documentation matters. I had emails and filings showing the actual sequence of events when facts were disputed.

3. Don’t fall for artificial deadlines and pressure tactics. A 24-hour ultimatum on a months-long project dispute has no legitimate basis. But we did not want to face further emotional and legal costs so we settled.

4. Verify commitments in writing. The foreman visit offer was withdrawn once documentation contradicted their narrative.

5. Plan for significant timeline overruns. 2 months became 8 months due to execution errors, not external factors.

6. Expect to spend a lot of your own time moving things along. We repeatedly had to be the intermediaries between the different actors, otherwise things would stall.

---

Mass Save rebates are valuable and the program works well. But on a $100k project affecting multiple households, contractor selection and contract protections matter significantly. Choose carefully and protect yourself with payment timing.

Happy to answer questions about inspections, timeline, or lessons learned.

Just wrapped up a heat pump installation on my triple-decker through Mass Save with NETR (recently merged with Sila). The timeline and settlement process had serious issues worth sharing.

Intention of this post: Warnings about this specific contractor and general advice for anyone doing heat pump installations through Mass Save. Posting this because I wish I'd known these things before starting.

Project overview:

• Triple-decker, 3 apartments
• ~$107k total project
• Quoted 2 months, took 8 months
• Mass Save rebates + GreenSky financing

Issue 1: Code violation in initial design

NETR's original electrical design placed equipment within the required setback from the property line, violating Somerville code. The original plan submitted to Eversource could not have met code requirements given the property layout.

This required:

• Complete redesign and Eversource resubmission (~7 week delay)
• Frantic last-minute neighbor coordination (temporary fence removal, documented encroachment with city). NETR supervisor on site ended up recommending going back to the drawing board and moving the electrical equipment to the other side of the house.
• My direct intervention with Eversource management to get revised permit scheduled. A lot of back-and-forth with both NETR and Eversource here. I had to intervene and escalate to get this moving.

This was really frustrating - it was an assessment error in the initial design and created a huge mess affecting multiple parties. Be ready and aware of any potential code issues. They wanted to remove my neighbor's fence.

Issue 2: Failed inspections

The electrical work failed inspection multiple times, requiring multiple days of corrective work before passing.

NETR pressured for payment before inspections, citing "substantial completion." Had I paid then, I would have had no leverage to ensure the failed work was corrected.

After the first failed inspection, the electrical inspector told me: "Not paying them is the smartest thing you did. Don't pay them until they close both permits." I didn't even know there was a building permit in addition to the electrical permit until the inspector told me this. This was critical advice that protected me.

Important: If you skip inspections, you’ll be left paying for any problems years later when you try to sell your house. So maintain your leverage ($$$) until everything is actually closed with the city. You can call your city to check if the permits are actually closed.

Issue 3: Settlement & gaslighting

After 8 months, I requested compensation for the delays and coordination burden. Here's what happened:

NETR initially offered $1,000 (~1% discount) and stated the encroachment delay was due to "my preference" not their design error.

They initially offered to send a foreman to review the project timeline together. After I provided documentation correcting their characterization of events, they:

• Withdrew the foreman visit offer
• Claimed that my neighbor was ok with the encroachment, so it was still my preference to move the electrical equipment.
  • (This was the weirdest claim they made - they never talked to my neighbor. The neighbor was ok with removing the fence if we replaced it, documented the encroachment with the city, and paid for any future code violations stemming from the encroachment - reasonable and enough to justify not doing this and moving the electrical equipment.)
• Increased the discount to $1,500
• After we told them that a $1,500 discount for all our troubles was not sufficient, they Issued a 24-hour deadline to accept or face "legal counsel escalation"

We accepted $1,500 to close the matter. But the pattern - mischaracterizing their design error as customer preference, refusing to review documentation together, imposing an arbitrary 24-hour deadline - was unprofessional and inappropriate for a project of this scale.

Other delays:

• Missed November 24th inspector callback (multiple weeks added)
• Equipment measurement error requiring swap (10+ days AFTER moving it to the other side of the house)
• Multiple scheduling failures requiring my intervention

Overall: We went with NETR precisely because we wanted a good system installed by a trusted company. However, I cannot in good faith recommend them. They also merged with Sila, who is now majority-owned by Goldman Sachs' private equity arm (as of November 2024), so their incentives have shifted significantly from the type of company they once were.

To be clear: The heat pumps work well now that everything's properly installed and inspected. NETR did eventually complete the work. But the execution issues and settlement process are worth documenting for others.

Key takeaways:

1. Payment timing is critical. Do not pay until both electrical AND building inspections pass. You need that leverage if corrections are required. The electrical inspector's advice was invaluable here - I didn't even know about the second permit requirement. I actually partially paid halfway through. There’s no reason to do that, and they might pressure you to.
2. Documentation matters. I had emails and filings showing the actual sequence of events when facts were disputed.
3. Don’t fall for artificial deadlines and pressure tactics. A 24-hour ultimatum on a months-long project dispute has no legitimate basis. But we did not want to face further emotional and legal costs so we settled.
4. Verify commitments in writing. The foreman visit offer was withdrawn once documentation contradicted their narrative.
5. Plan for significant timeline overruns. 2 months became 8 months due to execution errors, not external factors.
6. Expect to spend a lot of your own time moving things along. We repeatedly had to be the intermediaries between the different actors, otherwise things would stall.

Mass Save rebates are valuable and the program works well. But on a $100k project affecting multiple households, contractor selection and contract protections matter significantly. Choose carefully and protect yourself with payment timing.

Happy to answer questions about inspections, timeline, or lessons learned.

Just wrapped up a heat pump installation on my triple-decker through Mass Save with NETR (recently merged with Sila). The timeline and settlement process had serious issues worth sharing.

Intention of this post: Warnings about this specific contractor and general advice for anyone doing heat pump installations through Mass Save. Posting this because I wish I'd known these things before starting.

Project overview:

• Triple-decker, 3 apartments
• ~$107k total project
• Quoted 2 months, took 8 months
• Mass Save rebates + GreenSky financing

Issue 1: Code violation in initial design

NETR's original electrical design placed equipment within the required setback from the property line, violating Somerville code. The original plan submitted to Eversource could not have met code requirements given the property layout.

This required:

• Complete redesign and Eversource resubmission (~7 week delay)
• Frantic last-minute neighbor coordination (temporary fence removal, documented encroachment with city). NETR supervisor on site ended up recommending going back to the drawing board and moving the electrical equipment to the other side of the house.
• My direct intervention with Eversource management to get revised permit scheduled. A lot of back-and-forth with both NETR and Eversource here. I had to intervene and escalate to get this moving.

This was really frustrating - it was an assessment error in the initial design and created a huge mess affecting multiple parties. Be ready and aware of any potential code issues. They wanted to remove my neighbor's fence.

Issue 2: Failed inspections

The electrical work failed inspection multiple times, requiring multiple days of corrective work before passing.

NETR pressured for payment before inspections, citing "substantial completion." Had I paid then, I would have had no leverage to ensure the failed work was corrected.

After the first failed inspection, the electrical inspector told me: "Not paying them is the smartest thing you did. Don't pay them until they close both permits." I didn't even know there was a building permit in addition to the electrical permit until the inspector told me this. This was critical advice that protected me.

Important: If you skip inspections, you’ll be left paying for any problems years later when you try to sell your house. So maintain your leverage ($$$) until everything is actually closed with the city. You can call your city to check if the permits are actually closed.

Issue 3: Settlement & gaslighting

After 8 months, I requested compensation for the delays and coordination burden. Here's what happened:

NETR initially offered $1,000 (~1% discount) and stated the encroachment delay was due to "my preference" not their design error.

They initially offered to send a foreman to review the project timeline together. After I provided documentation correcting their characterization of events, they:

• Withdrew the foreman visit offer
• Claimed that my neighbor was ok with the encroachment, so it was still my preference to move the electrical equipment.
  • (This was the weirdest claim they made - they never talked to my neighbor. The neighbor was ok with removing the fence if we replaced it, documented the encroachment with the city, and paid for any future code violations stemming from the encroachment - reasonable and enough to justify not doing this and moving the electrical equipment.)
• Increased the discount to $1,500

After we told them that a $1,500 discount for all our troubles was not sufficient, they Issued a 24-hour deadline to accept or face "legal counsel escalation"

We accepted $1,500 to close the matter. But the pattern - mischaracterizing their design error as customer preference, refusing to review documentation together, imposing an arbitrary 24-hour deadline - was unprofessional and inappropriate for a project of this scale.

Other delays:

• Missed November 24th inspector callback (multiple weeks added)
• Equipment measurement error requiring swap (10+ days AFTER moving it to the other side of the house)
• Multiple scheduling failures requiring my intervention

Overall: We went with NETR precisely because we wanted a good system installed by a trusted company. However, I cannot in good faith recommend them. They also merged with Sila, who is now majority-owned by Goldman Sachs' private equity arm (as of November 2024), so their incentives have shifted significantly from the type of company they once were.

To be clear: The heat pumps work well now that everything's properly installed and inspected. NETR did eventually complete the work. But the execution issues and settlement process are worth documenting for others.

Key takeaways:

1. Payment timing is critical. Do not pay until both electrical AND building inspections pass. You need that leverage if corrections are required. The electrical inspector's advice was invaluable here - I didn't even know about the second permit requirement. I actually partially paid halfway through. There’s no reason to do that, and they might pressure you to.
2. Documentation matters. I had emails and filings showing the actual sequence of events when facts were disputed.
3. Don’t fall for artificial deadlines and pressure tactics. A 24-hour ultimatum on a months-long project dispute has no legitimate basis. But we did not want to face further emotional and legal costs so we settled.
4. Verify commitments in writing. The foreman visit offer was withdrawn once documentation contradicted their narrative.
5. Plan for significant timeline overruns. 2 months became 8 months due to execution errors, not external factors.
6. Expect to spend a lot of your own time moving things along. We repeatedly had to be the intermediaries between the different actors, otherwise things would stall.

Mass Save rebates are valuable and the program works well. But on a $100k project affecting multiple households, contractor selection and contract protections matter significantly. Choose carefully and protect yourself with payment timing.

Happy to answer questions about inspections, timeline, or lessons learned.

Looking for frameworks from people who navigated career changes (switching companies or career paths) when FIRE was close enough to feel real. Context below to help framing.

Situation:

• Mid-thirties
• $1.3M invested (Brokerage is about $300k, 401k is about $800k; rest in HSA/IRA)
• $200k in home equity on a multi-unit property; $600k remaining on the mortgage. Rental income from the other units roughly covers the mortgage. Happy to share more if relevant.
• $100k in cash
• TC is around $600k cash, started near $450k five years ago. WLB is good overall, some weekend work, ~8 hrs most days, remote. I recognize this combination is unusual and that's central to my dilemma.
• Spouse used to make around $300k but only did so for a couple of years. Went back to school to pursue her passion. Unlikely to make above $100k for the foreseeable future.
• Fire target: around $4.5M to spend $180k/year.
• Saving around $250k/year, so about 7-8 years out from fire target at current TC assuming 7% real.

The 'problem':

• The company was recently acquired. WLB used to be much worse but growth was better; now it's the inverse.
• Been a high performer (multiple promotions in <5 years), so security is high.
• I'm grateful for the WLB + TC + remote combination I have now and don't know if I can replicate it elsewhere. That is my biggest concern in leaving.

Two things I'm wrestling with:

1. Near-term: whether to stay at a company that's become a worse place to grow, given how hard it would be to replicate the WLB + TC + remote combination elsewhere.
2. Longer-term: as FIRE numbers get closer, I notice it's getting harder to justify any move that trades lifestyle for career growth, and harder to care about "having a great career" at all. I eventually want to transition to a different career path and coast in it.

Less interested in run-the-numbers replies, more interested in how people thought about career risk and identity when FIRE was starting to feel close but not yet here (I know I'm not actually close to FIRE). Especially curious about cases where a spouse was on a FIRE track and pivoted before reaching the number. My spouse contributed significantly to the figures above.