Furnace & AC check up worth it?

Question

Do you hire a professional service man clean your rental property's furnace and AC? Is it worth it? How often you do it? I feel like it's not really doing anything, but I could be wrong. Thanks!

JD Martin · Answer

The service should be doing more than just cleaning the unit, it should be checking the capacitors, freon charge, amp pull, etc, so that problems are caught early, not when the unit is out of commission. So long as the service call is reasonable and a full check is included I think it's worthwhile - but my HVAC guy charges $50 for the service. If it was $250, I would be more tempted to waiting until there was a problem (but I still might do it, depending on how clean I thought the tenants were).

Jim Adrian · Answer

Having your system serviced with the season is a great thing to do.  I find it totally worth the $175 for the yearly contract.  The system will run more efficient when routinely cleaned and checked which means this extends the life of the equipment.  Capacitors wear out over time and they catch this. Recharge freon when low etc.   Some companies offer discounts on parts / service when under contract and you will be on the priority list when it does break down.   What services they preform depends on the  system you have.   Landlord should schedule this and be present to make any descisions needed.

Kimberly H. · Answer

@Soh Tanaka We don't to it every year. Just when we close on the home and every few years after that. But we will check to make sure furnace filters are being changed at least every 6 months because tenants are told to do it and they don't.

You need to be careful who you hire, I hired a company doing a furnace check with a Groupon and they tried to tell me that a rental furnace needed some fix, that the furnace hadn't been working (I told him we just closed on the property), and that it wouldn't work next winter. When I asked the guy what exactly was broken he couldn't explain it to me in way that made sense; I have an engineering background so if someone can't tell or show me a problem I know it's B.S.  Plus we bought the property short sale and had been in the property multiple times in the year and a half it took the short sale to close and observed the furnace working just fine.  That was three winters ago and the furnace has been working just fine.

Our air conditioning died in our personal home this year. I asked the guy who replaced it, who keeps trying to sell his 2x a year maintenance plan, how maintenance could have caught this, all he could say was that I could have gotten 15% off a freon charge if we were under the maintenance plan. Since they are taxing the old freon to death 15% wouldn't have changed the math much, we ended up replacing the air conditioner caused by a leak at the A-coil.

Deanna McCormick · Answer

maintenance routine is part precaution and seasonal stuff like this needs should be included in that, but age and type of service, and how may units are involved are also a consideration.

Furnace for me is top concern, so that's done in late Sept,, A/C I used window units so not my issue.

But either your ready or your not,, when you need to flip the switch.

Frank Chin · Answer

I had tenants handle it, and some are totally clueless. I have a SFH where I had tenants handle furnaces and lawn maintenance. If I rent to young professionals that just left mom's home and home cooking, most are not up to the task. I don't have a quiz on home maintenance, unfortunately. One tenant with a loose door knob problem doesn't own screwdrivers.

I have a oil furnace, and I urge tenants to go on automatic delivery. Most do, but those who don't let the tank run dry will gunk up the service resulting in expensive service calls. I now get a service contract, and they handle annual checkup, and 24/7 emergency service. I got a few service calls before I went on the service contract, and it's no hot water 5 am in the morning, no heat on Xmas eve, Memorial Day etc. Now the tenants have the number of the service line, and all they have to do is call.

Same with lawn care. Spoiled by one good tenant, and the next tenant gets to it every few weeks, and I got neighbors calling me and the town. No problems since I got it taken care of professionally.

Michael Noto · Answer

I will mostly echo what @Thomas S. has said:

• service oil furnaces once a year, oil burns dirtier than gas
• Service natural gas furnaces every 2-3 years
• AC I would get serviced yearly in warm climates, every couple years in seasonal climates

As a landlord I would always make sure you are coordinating these services yourself.  Never leave this stuff in the hands of tenants.

Thomas S. · Answer

Having them routinely serviced, aside from filter changes, is not necessary. I am only familiar with gas and electric so take my opinion base on those two types. Furnaces generally do not need cleaning or adjustment on a regular bases.

Oil furnaces may be different as they may have soot build up which gas and electric generally do not have.

Change your filters regularly and periodically oil the blower motor if required.

Kim Meredith Hampton · Answer

@Soh Tanaka I try and do them every summer & winter. I think it helps prolong the use of the unit, and results on a lot less emergency calls at those times of the year

Soh Tanaka · Answer

Thanks all for your opinions!

Furnace & AC check up worth it?

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