HVAC system 30years old. Should I ask seller to replace?

Realtor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2013 · 227 posts · 35 votes

The duplex I have under contract has a few minor things to repair. One of the things I'm most concerned with is the HVAC system. The exterior unit and the furnace was manufactured in 1987 (which is when the house was built. The inspection called for a few repairs but didn't recommend a replacement. I feel like due to how old it is, it could break down within the next year or so and that's a pretty big expense for me to get hit with. I was thinking about asking the seller to replace it. What do you guys think? Also, just to note, I was going to pay what he was asking for, maybe I can even ask for a couple thousand knocked off the purchase price? Idk, let me know what you guys think...

0 Reply

167 views

Most Popular Reply

Seth Borman

Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2016 · 553 posts · 314 votes

Get the credit. You don't want to deal with a cheap replacement.

4 Reply

See this reply in the discussion

37 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Rod HanksBusiness Member
Insurance Agent · Dallas, TX · Member since 2013 · 743 posts · 462 votes
9y
@Jonathan Perez
It never hurts to ask. The worst thing that could happen would be a No. Since you are paying full asking why not ask for something back? Good Luck and keep us posted.
Rod Hanks Insurance4.9153 Reviews
Website View Page
0 Reply
Miles C Roth
Investor · Lafayette, CO · Member since 2016 · 9 posts · 5 votes
9y
China makes 80% of all air conditioners in the world. With Trump coming in and his stance toward China and Chinese imports, I think a lot of people are going to wish they replaced their HVAC units.
0 Reply
Jonathan Perez
OP
Realtor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2013 · 227 posts · 35 votes
9y
So the seller responded, and he's willing to give me an allowance of 3k for the replacement of one of the units. I think that sounds fair enough, considering the worst he could have did was no! What do y'all think?
1 Reply
John CasmonPro Member
Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Seems fair enough @Jonathan Perez.
0 Reply
Rod HanksBusiness Member
Insurance Agent · Dallas, TX · Member since 2013 · 743 posts · 462 votes
9y
@Jonathan Perez
Congrats! Negotiation 101, just ask!
Rod Hanks Insurance4.9153 Reviews
Website View Page
0 Reply
Rod HanksBusiness Member
Insurance Agent · Dallas, TX · Member since 2013 · 743 posts · 462 votes
9y
@Miles C Roth
So are you saying since Trump is coming into office we need to replace all HVAC in all of our properties??? Are you serious?
Rod Hanks Insurance4.9153 Reviews
Website View Page
0 Reply
Miles C Roth
Investor · Lafayette, CO · Member since 2016 · 9 posts · 5 votes
9y
No, of course not! But if you have one that you are on the fence about, might need replacement soon, keep it in mind that an AC unit might cost a lot more in the near future.
0 Reply
Clint E.
Investor · Saint Charles, MO · Member since 2016 · 118 posts · 91 votes
9y
The older unit will probably be using the old freon, R22. This old type of freon can be 10x more expensive per pound than R410. Just another thing to consider.
Try to get it replaced before closing, and get that cost put in the loan at worst so you aren't out of pocket for all that cash.
0 Reply
Jonathan Perez
OP
Realtor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2013 · 227 posts · 35 votes
9y
Clint Earnest what do you mean by "get it in the loan"? And what's a freon?
0 Reply
Clint E.
Investor · Saint Charles, MO · Member since 2016 · 118 posts · 91 votes
9y
@Jonathan Perez I mean try to get the HVAC replaced for the agreed upon price. If you can't then try to renegotiate the price. If you can't do that then see if they will have it installed at their cost, and then adjust the sales price up for the difference so you don't have to use cash to fix the AC.
Freon is refrigerant, it is in the HVAC system and it won't work without it. A 30 year old HVAC system probably uses the "old" freon, which costs so much more due to government/environmental regulations put in place due to its harmfulness to the planet.
0 Reply
Seth Borman
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2016 · 553 posts · 314 votes
9y
All but a handful of our properties use electric resistance for heat with no AC. We have, however, replaced a number of heat pumps, a mini split and a gas furnace. The gas furnace was about 50% efficient and took about $500 in maintenance. At the time it was owner occupied. I figured a three year payback for the upgrade. We later rented the house out and the lack of service calls alone was worth it. While the house was rented the AC went out. It was a split unit at about 10 SEER. We had it refilled with R22. I suggested replacing it but it was twice as much to replace as recharge. A year later it went out again. We replaced it with a 26 SEER mini split that the tenant loved. We kept the tenant for two years and would have kept her for longer if we didn't decide to sell the house. Affordable energy bills was part of that equation. On our office building we've been replacing the 10 SEER heat pumps with 14 SEER units as they fail. My observations? The cost of R22 is prohibitive. Don't ever buy it. Instead, replace the unit. Efficiency matters as your tenants have a monthly nut and failing to pay either you or the utility bill is a showstopper for you. New equipment will be more efficient than old equipment. It's illegal to sell 50 AFUE furnaces and 10 SEER AC units, but millions of them still exist.
1 Reply
Ron T.
Investor · Sharon, SC · Member since 2014 · 77 posts · 40 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Seth Borman:

All but a handful of our properties use electric resistance for heat with no AC.
We have, however, replaced a number of heat pumps, a mini split and a gas furnace.
The gas furnace was about 50% efficient and took about $500 in maintenance. At the time it was owner occupied. I figured a three year payback for the upgrade. We later rented the house out and the lack of service calls alone was worth it.
While the house was rented the AC went out. It was a split unit at about 10 SEER. We had it refilled with R22. I suggested replacing it but it was twice as much to replace as recharge.
A year later it went out again. We replaced it with a 26 SEER mini split that the tenant loved.
We kept the tenant for two years and would have kept her for longer if we didn't decide to sell the house. Affordable energy bills was part of that equation.
On our office building we've been replacing the 10 SEER heat pumps with 14 SEER units as they fail.
My observations? The cost of R22 is prohibitive. Don't ever buy it. Instead, replace the unit.
Efficiency matters as your tenants have a monthly nut and failing to pay either you or the utility bill is a showstopper for you.
New equipment will be more efficient than old equipment. It's illegal to sell 50 AFUE furnaces and 10 SEER AC units, but millions of them still exist.
No AC...lol a landlords dream.
Simply put not even feasible where the OP is buying. Summer temps in the triple digits in 80+% humidity are the norm not the exception.
I wouldn't rent a property out in SC without A/C ...that's a recipe for a lawsuit. But I sure wish because that is hte #1 source of nuisance calls. The A/C isnt cold enough, etc.
Depending on size and configuration OP can do somewhere between a little and a ton better than the stated price.
1 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.