Westfield, IN · Member since 2013 · 29 posts · 4 votes
beginning my first rehab house (about 2000 sq ft house, 2 story on a slab)
I walked through the inspection and took tons of notes. I have my list of projects and a budget. My question is this:
The A/C and Furnace are original (1992), and both seem to be working properly when we tested them.
Is it worth it to replace them? do you get a return on investment? Options include replace with new equipment, or replace with used but good condition equipment, or leave it.
Rental Property Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 412 votes
12y
If it's working well, I'd have an Hvac company check it out, clean it up and leave it. Recently sold a home and I was a little concerned about the age of the AC condenser (25-30 years) but it worked fine and was a total non-issue with either inspector or the buyers.
Investor · Colorado Springs , CO · Member since 2013 · 77 posts · 22 votes
12y
I am in a similar situation. There are 3 of 4 furnaces (1968), which are way past their respective life expectancy; yet are serving it's purpose. In order to balance Landlord responsibilities and lower operating cost, I plan consistently monitor the statuses of each furnace until it becomes out of order and immediately replace it with the most affordable and energy efficient furnace. "Don't fix, what's not broken."
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
If the furnaces are older than I am, then I would replace them. At that point they are about 50-70% efficient and the newer ones you get 90+% efficiency.
Contractor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2008 · 978 posts · 985 votes
12y
Buyer expectations will control. 'Round here, buyers expect a new HVAC system in a fully renovated house... so we tend to do it unless the system is less than 5 years old. (Georgia summers wreak havoc on forced air systems.)