HVAC Inspection - how thorough?

[Philip Sriployrung]

Hi there,

Recently had a tenant move out, did inspection and minimal rehab.

Two months later, new tenant is placed and when the technician goes to check the HVAC, it turns out it’s busted and needs replacing.

Here’s what the report said-

“Tech reset the breaker and the condenser came on. He added 3 lbs r407c freon to the unit. The pressure got to where it should be but the compressor is very loud and it appears someone had added stop leak. There is a leak in the evaporator coil and the compressor has been run low on freon and is not working properly. Tech suggests upgrading to r410a.”

I don’t know anything about HVAC’s but the above sounds like it could have been avoided if during move-out inspection they did a thorough check on the unit, and during rehab, fixed the underlying issues.

My property manager tells me inspection is just visual and I would’ve had to pay more for a thorough HVAC inspection.

Is the property manager at fault here or do I just suck it up and pay the full replacement costs of the HVAC?

Thanks

[John Teachout]

The items you're mentioning are probably not caused by the tenant. Most likely the unit has reached the end of it's useful life and needs replacement. R410 units have been the norm for quite a few years so this one is obviously older.