First time landlord..a/c isn't working, what to do...

First time landlord..a/c isn't working, what to do...

Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2010 · 40 posts · 1 vote

I just rented out my condo for the first time(in southern california). I lived there for a couple years and never really used the A/C. When it got really hot, I would turn it on once in a while but it never really worked that well. It did always work though.

Anyways, now it's not working and it's gonna cost me 1-2k to repair or 3-5k to put a new one in. There's really no need for A/C 95% of the year so I'm wondering what to do. I'm at the beginning of a 2 year lease with my tenant and don't want to strain the relationship but also can't afford/don't want to spend that much on an item like A/C.

I didn't explicitly state in the ad or the lease that there would be A/C but when the tenant asked me about it during the showing, I said there is A/C but doesn't work well or something to that effect(maybe I said I never really use it, I honestly don't remember).

So is it my responsibility to fix the A/C. From my initial research it sounds like the law is on my side, I don't have to fix the A/C since it's not a required item to maintain standard of living. But I also don't want my tenant to be pissed at me, this has all happened in the last day btw. There is especially hot weather right now and normally the apartment is just fine without AC. I was thinking about maybe just buying a portable unit(5,000 btu's) as a temporary fix for $200-$300 which would be a lot cheaper than repairing/getting a new AC.

Advice?? Thanks!

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Investor · Central America, Panama · Member since 2010 · 423 posts · 293 votes
13y

Fix it.

You'll pay for it with tenant turn over (no rent coming in) if you do not.

A tenant who stays is worth more than the cost of the HVAC unit

See this reply in the discussion

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  • Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    13y

    Go with the window AC , mention to the tenant your normal AC guy is backed up and will get to it ASAP . When the tenant asks again tell them they are waiting for a part , By that time the weather will have changed , giving you time to get more prices to get it done when the AC companies are slow

  • Investor · Central America, Panama · Member since 2010 · 423 posts · 293 votes
    13y

    Fix it.

    You'll pay for it with tenant turn over (no rent coming in) if you do not.

    A tenant who stays is worth more than the cost of the HVAC unit

  • Investor · Macomb, MI · Member since 2013 · 654 posts · 115 votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Matthew Paul:
    Go with the window AC , mention to the tenant your normal AC guy is backed up and will get to it ASAP . When the tenant asks again tell them they are waiting for a part , By that time the weather will have changed , giving you time to get more prices to get it done when the AC companies are slow

    I completely disagree with this. You will just make the tenant mad by giving them excuses. Plus if they find out you are lying that will make matters worse.

    Be honest with them. I always am. I have actually put two window AC's in a property to get a client. AC is a big factor even here in Michigan during the summer time. Everyone wants it. One tenant asked for it and I said no. Then they offered to split the cost if I install Central air. We wrote up a contract and wala...

    Oh, and that tenant now wants to buy the house from me next year.

    So point being. Be honest. Decide what you are able to do right now and explain it to your client. Honesty will help the client trust you more and want to stay longer.

  • Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
    13y

    Whether the "law is on your side" or not, this is one of the costs of being a landlord. New investors never believe in the "50% rule". But this is just one of those expenses you sign up for when you rent. The unit has AC. The tenant was aware of it when they moved in, since you recall discussing it. Its perfectly reasonable for them to expect it to work. And for you to fix it. Unlike your own house where you could choose to delay the repair, tenants, quite reasonably, expect problems to be resolved and resolved quickly. Get an AC guy (three would be better) to give you estimates to fix or replace it. $1-2K is an expensive repair and $5K seems very high to replace it.

  • Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2010 · 40 posts · 1 vote
    13y

    Ok thanks for the replies. I honestly can't afford the repairs(quoted at 1-2k) or the replacement(quoted at 3-5k), and I don't think it makes financial sense either. At it's hottest the weather will be 85-95 during the middle of the day, never hotter than that though. At night, 75-85 at the hottest. That type of weather maybe presents itself 1-3 weeks every other year.

    I'm thinking about offering to buy them a window a/c unit/portable type unit or an evaporative cooler(humidity is low, temp is not too hot so this should work well i think)

  • San Antonio, TX · Member since 2013 · 23 posts · 12 votes
    13y

    I agree with Jon H - I don't see any way that the LL avoids ethical or legal responsibility for fixing an AC unit that was operating when they moved in. Delaying the fix or putting in a window unit might give them legal justification for breaking/contesting the lease. Then it would most likely be harder to find a good tenant with the window unit and there goes your income. I always go with fixing it right the first time.

    BUT.....the statement "AC doesn't work" is a very broad one and im not sure how you get to $1-2K of repairs. if there is no power to the AC, then 9 times out of 10 it means the breaker just need to be flipped. I cant count the number of times I had a tenant call about no AC and it was just the breaker. All that costs is the time to flip the switch. and many times, I would ask the tenant if they checked the breaker, only to find out that yes, they looked at it and it appeared to be "on" but then when I told them to physically flip it OFF and then back ON, they said "oh, let me try that" and voila.....angels sing.

  • Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
    13y

    My brutally honest opinion is that you should sell this property. You're financially unable to afford it. Cash reserves are essential to owning rental property. Being able to afford this repair should not be an issue. Six months PITI (plus HOA, if applicable) at a minimum. Six months rent is better.

    You rented the unit with AC. If I was your tenant and you refused to fix it I would be royally P.O'ed. Your statements that its not hot very much are just not relevant to me. You want to live in the heat, you live here. I rented a unit with an AC and I expect it to work. I may not have any legal basis to not pay rent or move out, but rest assured I am no longer a happy camper. A window unit is not going to cut it. They're noisy and don't cool evenly like a central AC. I'm going to make your life miserable from here on because you're not holding up your end of the landlord/tenant relationship.

    If you're determined to go this route, ask the tenant how much of a discount they want on the rent to make up for the lack of AC. Or if they want to move out now.

    I do think these estimates are quite high. Get more estimates. I had one AC guy quote almost $1000 to fix one of my units. The second guy charged me $100.

  • Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2010 · 40 posts · 1 vote
    13y

    Ok sounds good, I do appreciate your advice. I think I'm going to provide a portable A/C unit and see if that helps. If not, I'll go ahead and get a few other quotes for repairing/replacing the unit.

  • Investor · Central America, Panama · Member since 2010 · 423 posts · 293 votes
    13y

    I agree with Jon

    If you can't afford repairs on a rental, you're not ready to be a landlord yet. Sell it!

  • Real Estate Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2010 · 449 posts · 173 votes
    13y

    Definitely call around for quotes. A couple of true stories for you:

    The AC quits working at our main home. And this is TX, so not something you want to be without. So we call one of the big AC companies, and the guy comes out. He spends two minutes looking at the thermostat, doesn't even go up in the attic, and says "there's nothing I can do". I give him my best "yeah, and..." silence. So he asks me what year the house was built. I tell him 1986. He says, well this looks like it came with the house originally, and the circuit board is fried, and they don't make that part anymore. And then he tells me I'll have to replace the whole thing [air handler], and gives me a price of $2500. I tell him that my wife and I will need to discuss that and we'll call him if we are interested (translation: we're not doing business with you). And then he goes on to tell me that they're in the area doing deals, and if I wanted to get an entire new system while I'm at it,they could do that for only $6000, and if that's too much money for us, they have all these great financing options. Silly us, we thought we were calling an AC repairman, not an AC salesman! We told him we'd think about it and thanked him for his time.

    So about the circuit board that is no longer made. Readily available online for around $130. We needed a new transformer (the reason the circuit board got fried) which cost us all of..drum roll...$40. So I guess we won't be using that company anymore.

    Story #2 - we actually did replace the air handler at the rental we recently bought and rehabbed. The first quote was $3679. Then through a friend of a friend, we found "our guy". $1372 all in, parts and labor.

    So yeah, definitely call around.

    I share Jon's concerns about you maybe being a bit thin on reserves. Even if you're able to work this out, get a better quote, ask the tenant if they'll accept a window unit temporarily to buy you time, whatever, the thing is that these kinds of larger expenses do come up from time to time, and you have to be ready.

    -Harry

  • Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
    13y

    I've found that sort of range of quotes to be very typical. And that sometimes it is sometimes quite simple to fix.

    Its been a little over 10 years, but we put two ACs in our house and one furnace. No AC before that, so this included all the wiring and copper piping between the condenser and evaporator ("lineset" in HVAC terms) for both units. IIRC it was $5000 for the whole job.

  • Karen MargraveBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    13y

    @Harry Campbell We moved to so cal from Shasta County where it gets up to 118 degrees in the summer, every house has AC. We moved to so cal, and I assumed all houses and apts. had AC, and didn't even ask about it when we leased our first place. It was within 1/4 mile to the ocean, beautiful views, high quality amenities, etc. It was miserable on hot days! We moved out after the lease was up.

    You said the place had AC, it's reasonable that the tenant expected it to be in working order by the time they moved in. If you can't afford the repairs, finance it, use the rent money or what ever you need to do in order to have a good rental. Otherwise, do as @Jon Holdman suggested, and sell the property.

  • Real Estate Investor · StL, MO · Member since 2008 · 294 posts · 152 votes
    13y

    You've got to fix it. All of my renters melt if the thermostat is above 65* in the summer and freeze if it's below 80* in the winter. So don't try to justify that you don't need the AC because renters seem to have a 15* black hole of temperature range that most people call normal.

    Check craigslist for technicians. Most do HVAC work during the day and are looking to make extra bucks on the weekend/evenings. Call them and get your bids and see what it will cost. In a 2-family I was rehabbing, I got 2 all new systems (furnace, air handler & condenser) installed for $3500 total. The installer worked for a company during the week and went about it as the equipment will cost me $X and I'll be able to make $500 for doing the same thing I do at work all week long. It was win-win all around. If it is hotter than normal there, take into consideration when they could get the work done, not just the cheapest price. If the cheapest guy can't get there for 2 weeks because he is busy, the tenant will be pissed. Save his number for next time.

  • Joel OwensBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    13y

    It's supply and demand.

    The biggest A/C companies are doing retail jobs so they are not interested in a discount.

    Check with other local investors or your local REIA association to see who they use. Often there is a company that caters to investors. That is what you need is a company that understands you are not a retail client or even a 10% or 20% off retail client.

  • Joel OwensBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    13y

    95 degrees is very HOT by the way. People can have heat strokes at that temperature. Some people are warm blooded and some are cold blooded.

    I am warm blooded so keep my A/C almost at 70. Too hot and I would just start having to stick my head in the freezer to cool down! LOL

  • Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2013 · 198 posts · 25 votes
    13y

    Fix the A/C. I like it really cold in my place. I usually have the A/C set to sub 65 degrees.

    I if I were the tenant and you bought me an window unit I would be pissed. I would probably not pay you full rent and be looking for a new place instantly.

  • Investor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2013 · 13 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    Harry

    Lot's of advice, I manage tens of millions $ of rental properties in Charleston, SC. am also a mechanical contractor, HVAC is always a problem. My 2 cents is repair or replace the A/C, window unit is a short term fix and that money could go to the repair/replacement cost. Secondly is the property value,the central system will need to be address at some point anyway. I would suggest shopping around for prices however, unless it's a bad compressor, repair cost should not be that high.

  • Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    13y

    I have 8 window units sitting in my garage , just for emergencies . AC has a problem I set the renters up with window units . It buys me time , my AC guy works full time for a company , and sometimes he is real busy . I haven't ever had a complaint from a tenant when i show up with a window unit . They only complain if I don't . One tenant bought one from me because he likes his bed room colder and found it was much cheaper on the electric bill to set the house back at night and use the window unit . I have 4 portable generators that I will take to a property during a power outage to keep the heat running , run sump pumps , and for lights and refrigerator . Tenants love it and it saves me time and money.

  • Dick RosenPro Member
    Property Manager · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 451 votes
    13y

    I think you got the overwhelming answers to your questions but I wanted to through in my 2 cents and support @Joel Owens comment about calling other landlords/property owners/REIA group members for referrals. When I moved to AZ I had no contacts and resorted to the internet and phone books for only a short time. Now I've been here for awhile made some contacts and received referrals. Just had a quote to replace 2 stolen condensor's in Phoenix... 3 of the big boys all came in at $11k-$13k which included replacement of the outdated air handlers inside the apartments. I got it done for $7200.

    You need to take care of business or get out but you also need to connect with local resources for referrals.

  • Investor · Mission Viejo, CA · Member since 2012 · 627 posts · 204 votes
    13y

    If you are broke, you are living very dangerously and need to sell the place, or get a second job to get your income up and build reserves.

    $1-2K is a very expensive repair and $5K is way too high to replace it. We just bought a condenser unit (the exterior part of the system) for a house in southern California, and it was $1,850 installed.

    It appears you do not know how to work on any of this. I replaced a bad contactor in one of the condenser units in my house, and bad inducer fans in both furnaces. Some wholesale parts places will not sell, as they are not set-up to collect sales taxes, but all of the parts are available on the Internet.

  • Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2010 · 40 posts · 1 vote
    13y

    Thanks for the advice, I'm going to replace the outdoor unit, should cost a little under 3k. Work can't be done though for 4-5 days and it's pretty hot in the unit. Bought an evaporative cooler for them but doesn't seem to be helping much. What should I do in the mean time?

  • Investor · Southeast, MI · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y

    There's another option you might want to consider. I'm uber cheap and my HVAC guy is a real hustler. Twice I've had A/C units replaced with used units that he has come accross in his business. Both times I paid under $500 for materials and labor. You will have to really look to find a guy that's good.

  • Investor · Clairemont, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    13y

    3K for just the condenser sounds high to me. I just put a 2 1/2 ton air handler and condenser in last week for $3050. That was in FL so maybe prices out here in CA are that high but I really doubt it.

  • Investor · Mission Viejo, CA · Member since 2012 · 627 posts · 204 votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Matt Devincenzo:
    3K for just the condenser sounds high to me. I just put a 2 1/2 ton air handler and condenser in last week for $3050. That was in FL so maybe prices out here in CA are that high but I really doubt it.

    They are not. As I wrote above, we recently put a condenser (outdoor) unit in a house in Victorville, CA for $1,850 installed.

  • Member since 2011 · 798 posts · 216 votes
    13y

    If you provide something with a property, you're stuck repairing or replacing it.

    While only one state that I know (Arizona) of requires A/C if you *don't* provide it upfront (you did), you're stuck repairing it since it came with the property.

    That's why some landlords prefer to remove *everything* they can from a rental so they don't have to repair it if it breaks: washer/dryer, ceiling fans, window A/C units in mild climates, garage doors, pools, fireplaces, dishwashers, disposals, and anything else that can break. If you provide these things, you'll be stuck repairing them since they came with the property.

    Does your A/C unit not work at all?

    Was the thermostat set too low and the unit froze up and blew hot air?

    Do you have a home warranty? That would be your cheapest solution right there if you have a home warranty. You could get it repaired for a cheap $100 fee.

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