First House Hack Property Furnace and A/C

[Ben Hilger]

Hello! First time ever posting on BiggerPockets, very excited to get started on my real estate journey! I just closed on my first house hack property. Currently it has a 30 year old Aquatherm water furnace and air conditioner (original to the home when it was built). The seller paid for a home warranty for the first year and gave me a partial credit towards repairs. As of the time of this posting, they are functional. 

I currently have a quote for $7K to install a new air conditioner and natural gas furnace. This quote comes from a HVAC company my real estate agent uses (he also invests in the area)

Another option I have is I could also wait, maintaining them through the home warranty until they are deemed unrepairable and replace them. If I maintain them until they are deemed unrepairable, I could get up to $3,500 from the home warranty. But, they have their own HVAC company and I’m not sure how much they would charge. I’m also worried that the home warranty would find a way out of paying and then I would need to pay in full during the busy season with higher rates. I’m new to using a warranty and it seems hot or miss based on some forums I’ve been reading, but would love to hear from people’s experience on here. 

Other notes: On the home inspection report, the only notes on these units were that they were well past design life, the fins on the A/C are damaged possibly reducing efficiency, and there was a very small leak on the cold water outtake from the furnace I fixed by tightening the valve. 

1. Is 7K overpriced for a new A/C and gas furnace?

2. Should I wait and get it serviced through the home warranty company until it’s deem irreplaceable? Or should I bite the bullet and pay for new ones now? (I have the cash to do so)

Thank you for the time of going through this. Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback.