Central AC is cooked - thinking mini splits

[Alberto Fernandez]

Currently house hacking in a 100 year old 2 family in Northern NJ. Closed Labor Day, renovated the upstairs 2 bedroom, 1 bath unit, had it rented by December. The unit is serviced by central air, with condenser outside and air handler in the attic. Baseboard heat provided via gas boiler that is in the basement of my unit. These HVAC systems are only servicing the unit in question and are ancient, but were working well, so I applied reno budget elsewhere.

The AC has quit and the costs to repair don't make sense as I've been told they are likely very short term bandaids. So that leaves replacement.

However, I was thinking about mini splits. Rationale: I think for roughly the cost of the AC replacement, I can do AC/heat pump splits. While the baseboard heat currently works in the unit, as previously mentioned, the boiler is ancient and I'll feel lucky if I get 2 more winters out of it. Additionally, reclaiming the physical space it takes up in the basement of my unit has some great upside for my future reno plans.

Curious from some more seasoned landlords if they have experience with mini splits in Northern NJ like climate? I planned for this to happen eventually and can handle replacement, but I'm thinking this may be a more financially efficient approach to kill two birds with one stone. Appreciate any thoughts, thanks.