Heating System & Renovations

[Corben Briggs]

Hey guys!

I just recently closed on my first property! Its a 3bd x 1.5bt single family home in a great town/neighborhood. I am using this as a stepping stone for a live & flip deal. The property is a bit of an antique from 1945 but is not in that bad of shape and has had some recent renovations done in the past (kitchen and main bathroom). I got it for a great deal and there is still some good meat on the bone to really add more value when its time to relist!

Some of the value add projects that I have in mind are expanding the master, adding a master bath/walk in closet and also possibly adding an extra half bath upstairs. The floors need to be replaced and other cosmetic renovations are getting planned with contractors to make it much more modern and appealing.

One of the issues I cant stop thinking about is the damn heating system. The house's main heating comes from oil and it still has those clanky radiators in every room that act as big eyesore (to me at least)! I am a bit nervous that if I go through all of these renovations to make the house look much better & add value the radiators are still going to hold back the value and essentially create a ceiling for profits. I know installing a brand new heating system can be pricey so I'm not sure I can budget that on top of all of the new renovations ATM. Does anyone have any experience in dealing with these in their rehab deals or might be able to share any tips on what to do with these? 

A couple of my concerns are spending $$ to replace them and still having a price ceiling because the age of the house. NOT replacing them and potentially dealing with the same thing with the value after we rehab OR doing all the other renovations first and then having to rip up some of the renovations such as the new flooring after they are done because I dont have a choice in removing the radiators.

Appreciate your responses & anything helps!

Corben

[George W.]

Raidators are needed for hydronic heating and steam systems. If its hydronic heating you can replace the freestanding radiators with a baseboard product like slant fin 30. Which would certainly have costs involved but likely cheaper than adding ducts. 

Look at the neighborhood, are all of the houses in the area older and have cast iron rads? If so it probably wouldn't effect the value all that much. The good thing about old cast iron radiators is that they're usually way oversized and the boiler can run a lower water temp and be more efficient. Some people acutally like the looks of them. 

If theres gas available it would probably pay to convert if you plan on living there a long time or if the system there now is very old. It most likely wouldn't pay to convert to forced hot air. I think its one of those things that wouldn't add much value to a property but makes it easier to sell when the heater is new.

What would probably add value is air conditioning. Especially if the rest of the neighborhood doesnt really have any. Could be done with mini-split units.