Decatur, GA · Member since 2015 · 423 posts · 53 votes
Hello all,
I have a rental property at which the tenant just told me the AC is no longer working. The problem is the guy who installed the condenser and warranted it and who would give me the best price is out of town on vacation until Tuesday. Cost-wise and to avoid voiding any warranty I would like to have the original guy take care of it, but it's freakin hot these days as well (Atlanta). What would you all suggest? My HVAC guy suggested maybe finding a separate portable unit - maybe window unit or fan - that can suffice until next week? Would that be reasonable?
Window units are great to buy time. If you're doing rentals at scale prepare to own a few. They give you that few weeks you need to get the best deal and move forward on the work on your terms. A lot of AC guys/companies hate them because they love bidding projects when folks under over a barrel.
Depending on the size of your rental property and ability to set expectations, usually one or two window units suffice.
Easy to install; shouldn't take more than an hour to install a couple. Need to verify window opening sizes, and of course, make sure they're installed sloping away from the house, otherwise you'll get condensation flowing back towards your window, and into the house.
What brand is the unit? Most of the big brands any certified installer can do the warranty work on them and you don't have to wait for your guy.
Call a couple different companies and ask them if they service the brand of system you have.
It's a Goodman. I will try to contact them or a service provider who does the warranty work.
Yeah. The only issue is I would still need to pay one of these other service providers for the labor, which would probably end up being more than the $100 the tenant is willing to wait until next week for.
I always keep a window AC in storage to use in a situation like this. This buys me time, when you are not in an emergency situation, you can negotiate better pricing and terms.
Ask your ac guy if he has a friend in the field that can help him out since he is out of town. A guy who has been in the trade long enough always has that helper or buddy that he can call to help on big jobs or they work together on giving each other business if the other is busy.
One thing I'd like to point out to the people on here......
Your HVAC guy it out of town....on vacation....with his family...... LEAVE HIM ALONE...... geez...... you are lucky he responded at all.....don't expect him to dig up some other referral for you or help you with the situation.....LEAVE HIM ALONE......
Having the AC out sucks, but its not the end of the world...... suck it up....unless its a life threatening situation, relax... get some portable or wall units and deal with it a couple of days......
In my area its not uncommon to be several days for an HVAC person to available period.... let alone someone you trust or have used. So another 24-48 hours until you get someone you trust its earth shattering....relax.....no one is gonna die