MF house with one furnace

[Drew Denham]

So I'm looking at purchasing a MF home but the landlord pays utilities and with Michigan winters this could get pricey on a 1900 sq foot house. Any creative ideas for tenants to keep the bills down? Rent is 1150 per month and I can probably get the house for 25k ready to rent. I haven't seen the previous heat bills yet but I'm not sure if it's a red flag not to have multiple furnaces .. Thx all!!

[Roy N.]

Originally posted by @Drew Denham:

So I'm looking at purchasing a MF home but the landlord pays utilities and with Michigan winters this could get pricey on a 1900 sq foot house. Any creative ideas for tenants to keep the bills down? Rent is 1150 per month and I can probably get the house for 25k ready to rent. I haven't seen the previous heat bills yet but I'm not sure if it's a red flag not to have multiple furnaces .. Thx all!!

 Drew:

A single heat source in converted homes is not uncommon.  We consider it a red-flag, but not necessarily a deal breaker; it all depends on the type of HVAC system and how it is installed.  In these instances force-air heat is about the worst with which to deal:

1) Common ductwork allows air to circulate between the units - this includes smoke, cooking odours, airborne viruses, etc.  It also provides a fire conduit between units.

2) Depending on how the ductwork was run, you may be looking at substantial rework (opening walls, building bulkheads, etc) to separate the two units.

If you have a boiler and hydronic heat, there may be a similar degree of effort to separate the plumbing runs - unless the system is new enough to have been installed with independent loops from a common manifold.  However, leaving the single system in-place does not pose the air quality nor fire concerns of a common forced air system.