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Updated over 9 years ago on . Most recent reply

Possible Rental House built in 1950's: Should I install central heat/air?
I am taking a look at a property built in the 1950s today. The property has no central heat or air just window units. The comps clearly show this house is best suited for a rental. I have never dealt with a property this old before.
With these type of rental home would you typically go to the trouble to install central heat/air or would you leave it as is? Just trying to know before I make an offer later today (owner is VERY motivated so I can get it cheap) and need to figure out if I need to account for HVAC or not.
Thanks I appreciate your feedback
Most Popular Reply

Samantha M. I'm addressing the same question. I'm looking to buy a little 2/1 (740 square feet) and think I'm just going to buy a window unit. I know other landlords who rent this size house tend to just use window units. This is definitely a lower end rental, though.
If it were a larger home or a higher end rental, I would probably budget for new HVAC as I would suspect that it's expected. Ultimately, it depends on what your competition is doing.
I will say that central HVAC certainly seems to add a lot of value (more than the cost) based on what I've seen in my research.
The only other thing I would be careful about is lead paint if you've got to cut into walls and add duct work. Given the age of house, that may or may not be an issue.