HVAC is nearing the end of its expected useful life.

[Karthikeyan S.]

When a Turnkey home inspection report has a comment "HVAC is nearing the end of its expected useful life. Servicing and assessment by a qualified HVAC technician are recommended", how are we supposed to negotiate with the seller?

1. What should be minimum life expectancy for a HVAC system when the property is called as a turnkey property?

2. Average end to end cost to replace a HVAC in states like AL?

3. Can HVAC specialist certify that this HVAC system can run for additional X years?

4. If seller is not ready to fix, how much seller credit should we negotiate?

Please suggest.

[Joshua Heath]

Greetings Karthikeyan!

My name is Josh. I’m a maintenance technician for an AC company in southwest Florida. Hope this is of some help to you!

1. What should be minimum life expectancy for a HVAC system when the property is called as a turnkey property?

ANSWER: It all really depends on where the property is located. Perfect world, an HVAC system will last/live longer in the north (VA, PA, MD, etc) then say in the south (AL, SC, GA, FL). For example, a brand new top tier system (Trane/York) is only expected to last between 8-12 years in Florida where it might last almost 20-30 years in Michigan.

2. Average end to end cost to replace a HVAC in states like AL?

ANSWER: Do you want quality or something to get by? Do you want a good Ford or a cheap Benz? On average, for a middle of the road system, you’re looking at around $7-10k. This is a MASSIVE generalization because price will fluctuate based on needs of the home, style of the HVAC (split, package, wall package, mini-split), filtration in the home, etc. If you have an AC company that you trust and they do work on your home in/near your market, have them either give you a quote or possibly install it for you. This way you already have a company that you trust working on your behalf.

3. Can HVAC specialist certify that this HVAC system can run for additional X years?

ANSWER: Yes and no. A good AC tech will tell you what you can do to get as much life out of a system as possible. The downside is that might mean a few years OR a few months depending on the age, condition, and history of the system. Bottom line? If you’re investing in the south, count yourself lucky that you were able to get 10 years out of it.

4. If seller is not ready to fix, how much seller credit should we negotiate?

ANSWER: It depends. It’s a negotiable term as is everything else. If you can get them to cover half, if not a little bit more, then I’d count that as a win.

Hope this is of help.

Respectfully,

Josh H.