Facing a tough decision re: steam heating with a pending sale

[Kevin R.]

Due to the great wealth of information and helpful people on BP, I was able to get my first home under contract last weekend. Here are some basic details about the property:

• $230,000 triplex (one unit per floor)
• Built in 1925 and located in Philadelphia, PA
• 2,550 sq ft
• Radiant heating w/ steam boiler (no ducts or AC currently installed)

I just had a home inspection and was told that the steam boiler is in pretty bad shape (which leads the inspector to believe that the radiators may have some issues as well due to lack of proper maintenance). In addition, he told me that there is currently only one thermostat for the entire house, and that it's difficult and expensive to zone on a steam boiler. With that in mind, I need to figure out what to do going forward. I can see the following as options:

• Get rid of the steam boiler and install high-velocity AC/heating (seems like the best, but PRICIEST, option)
• Limit steam heating to a single unit and install electric baseboard heating on the other two units (perhaps the most cost-effective way to go, though I would still have to install separate AC window units)
• Limit steam heating to a single unit and install ductless mini-split AC/heaters on the other two units
• Repair/replace the steam boiler with another steam boiler, fix any radiators that have issues, and keep the status quo without zoning heat (not ideal - I can already imagine the third floor being one extreme temperature while the first floor is another)

I'm really new to all of this and at a complete loss right now for how to proceed. Any advice or recommendations from the BP community would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!