Possible Rental House built in 1950's: Should I install central heat/air?

Question

I am taking a look at a property built in the 1950s today. The property has no central heat or air just window units. The comps clearly show this house is best suited for a rental. I have never dealt with a property this old before.

With these type of rental home would you typically go to the trouble to install central heat/air or would you leave it as is? Just trying to know before I make an offer later today (owner is VERY motivated so I can get it cheap) and need to figure out if I need to account for HVAC or not.

Thanks I appreciate your feedback

John Chapman · Answer

Samantha M. I'm addressing the same question. I'm looking to buy a little 2/1 (740 square feet) and think I'm just going to buy a window unit. I know other landlords who rent this size house tend to just use window units. This is definitely a lower end rental, though. If it were a larger home or a higher end rental, I would probably budget for new HVAC as I would suspect that it's expected. Ultimately, it depends on what your competition is doing. I will say that central HVAC certainly seems to add a lot of value (more than the cost) based on what I've seen in my research. The only other thing I would be careful about is lead paint if you've got to cut into walls and add duct work. Given the age of house, that may or may not be an issue.

Frank Nguyen · Answer

@Samantha M.Did you end up acquiring this rental property? If so, did you end up installing central air or some other type of heat source?Thanks!

Kismet I. · Answer

Where is your property located? It really depends on the neighborhood, window units are very common in some Dallas neighborhoods.

David Krulac · Answer

Samantha M. Age is all relative. Age is just a number. We've done a lot of natural gas conversions and almost all have been hot air furnaces and we've added central air. Some of the houses already had the duct work which is a big savings, but we have converted to hot air and central air, from oil steam and oil hot water heat. We have added central air to places as old as 1872. Also have added central air to other places built over 100 years ago. The key is that it has to be cost effective. One we did last year was a relatively newer house with oil hot water heat, but the configuration of the house meant more costs and disruption to the tenants living there. We ended up leaving the hot water system but converting the fuel source from oil to gas.

Manuel Gonzalez · Answer

I install central on all my rentals its better all the way around from renting better to less of a fire hazard in the winter from all the space heaters plus most apartment renters trying to rent a house are used to central Ac u can't go wrong in my area I got a guy that can install whole system rheem 4 ton for a little over 4k maybe its true a old house probably don't have wall insulation but in my experience a few roof vents and blown in insulation will be good unuff

John Horner · Answer

I would hold off for now. Central heat and air plus ductwork costs about $6k-$8k in my neck of the woods. That's going to greatly decrease your ash flow for a rental. What's the hurry, wait until you're ready to sell then install and recoup your investment. IMHO.

Charles May · Answer

@Samantha M. - I would strongly consider installing central heat/air especially if your able to get the house at a decent price. You will undoubtetly get your money back if/when you sell. Being you are from Dallas obviously it gets quite warm there. It will help your property "stand out" amongst the others that may not have central air, if nothing else you can charge a little extra rent for having it. There may be issues with installing the unit without seeing the property but I install furnace/A.C. units daily here in Ohio and it can become quite costly ($3K-$8K depending on the size of the house). Another issue is a house this old most likely does not have insulation in the exterior walls, something else to consider as you don't want your "conditioned air" getting absorbed by outside air. What was the source of heating? I saw some posted electric baseboard, is this correct? If there is no ductwork in the home a great option is a ductless split system. In order to keep this post somewhat short if your looking for options either reply or contact me directly. Good Luck!

Tom Goans · Answer

Samantha M., I am guessing the property is located in the Metroplex area. So air conditioning is a major plus. I am also guessing cost a lot to install central heat and air in the 1950s home because of construction issues. My thoughts would be this; 1. What do the other homes generally have in the neighborhood? 2. What is the competition offering? 3. Swamp coolers may be affective enough, just remember they are pumping even more moisture into the house on top of the natural humidity. So mold and other problems may be magnified. Electric window air conditioning units are a good choice until the electric bill comes. You post does not indicate the type of heating. If it is a floor furnace or wall units, this may not be up to code. Check with the local county building department to find out for sure. You most definitely do not want a property that is out of code and catches on fire. 4. Has the electrical wiring been updated to present-day code? This would also be an issue for the electric window units. 5. Has the plumbing been updated? 6. Has the sewer line been updated, especially from the house to the city utility line in the alley? There are a large number of considerations for any real estate investment. An older home has more considerations. This may be a very big financial commitment for you with many skeletons in the closet that will not become exposed for a while.

Samantha M. · Answer

John Chapman Thanks Jon that was a great reply, thank you very much. I am about to meet the seller, I will let you guys know how it goes and keep you updated. Thank again eveyrone

Stephanie Dupuis · Answer

Yes, I'm talking baseboard heat. Samantha is definitely showing window units - wow. There's nothing in the property? I'm noticing you're in Dallas (shoulda looked more carefully, apologies).