House We're Buying Has Old A/C, What Should We Do? (Irving: rental, get credit)

[globe9]

We're new to this area, so I'm not sure what is customary in this situation. We're buying a brick, ranch style home in Richardson. Offer was accepted and house is under contract. We had inspection on house this past Saturday. The inspector was thorough and said that the house is in very good condition. He said it was obvious that the home was well-maintained for it's entire history thus far. There are some minor things of course, but nothing we can't take care of for relatively small expense. With 2 exceptions.
He said the A/C is 20 years old. It's working fine, but he said due to it's age, we can expect it to go out at anytime. The other thing is the water heater. It is also old and will need replacing in the near future. We are having an A/C guy go out and look at the system to give us his more expert opinion and replacement cost. The water heater isn't that big of a deal to me as they're also relatively inexpensive to me($500-$600), but the A/C could be a $5,000 expense or more.

I'm not expecting the seller to replace the A/C, but would asking for $2,000 or $2,500 off agreed price be fair? Is this customary? We're not getting the house for a steal or anything. The seller is getting a fair price IMO. It's in the high end of what comps sold for per sq ft.

What would you do? Just looking for honest answers and opinions on this. Thanks!

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by globe9

We're new to this area, so I'm not sure what is customary in this situation. We're buying a brick, ranch style home in Richardson. Offer was accepted and house is under contract. We had inspection on house this past Saturday. The inspector was thorough and said that the house is in very good condition. He said it was obvious that the home was well-maintained for it's entire history thus far. There are some minor things of course, but nothing we can't take care of for relatively small expense. With 2 exceptions.
He said the A/C is 20 years old. It's working fine, but he said due to it's age, we can expect it to go out at anytime. The other thing is the water heater. It is also old and will need replacing in the near future. We are having an A/C guy go out and look at the system to give us his more expert opinion and replacement cost. The water heater isn't that big of a deal to me as they're also relatively inexpensive to me($500-$600), but the A/C could be a $5,000 expense or more.

I'm not expecting the seller to replace the A/C, but would asking for $2,000 or $2,500 off agreed price be fair? Is this customary? We're not getting the house for a steal or anything. The seller is getting a fair price IMO. It's in the high end of what comps sold for per sq ft.

What would you do? Just looking for honest answers and opinions on this. Thanks!

I'd ask for the hot water heater to be replaced and ask for the seller to pay for, or go halfsies on, a home warranty. The home warranty will cover repairs to the AC and some warranties will even pay to replace it. I've had a home warranty every year that I've owned my 50s home, and every year it has paid for itself.

Personally if I was selling my house and someone asked me to take $5k on the chin to replace a functioning AC system, I'd probably refuse.

[globe9]

We are getting a home warranty for sure. We're not considering asking the seller to replace the system, we're just considering asking for an allowance of $2000 or $2500. We may ask, we may not. Just feeling out what is customary around here. We are just trying to avoid buying this home(for what I think is a very fair price to the seller) and then we get hit with a $5,000 bill in a few months either. I know we will have the warranty, but have you read reviews on those things?
BTW, who is your warranty company? They don't fight you for every little claim?

Thanks for the response

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Anything currently working should not be the basis of a request to get credit or replacement. The home warranty will cover both. Unless the seller is desperate, they will refuse. Negotiations are for broken/unsafe items.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by globe9

We are getting a home warranty for sure. We're not considering asking the seller to replace the system, we're just considering asking for an allowance of $2000 or $2500. We may ask, we may not. Just feeling out what is customary around here. We are just trying to avoid buying this home(for what I think is a very fair price to the seller) and then we get hit with a $5,000 bill in a few months either. I know we will have the warranty, but have you read reviews on those things?
BTW, who is your warranty company? They don't fight you for every little claim?

Thanks for the response

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Anything currently working should not be the basis of a request to get credit or replacement. The home warranty will cover both. Unless the seller is desperate, they will refuse. Negotiations are for broken/unsafe items.

Listen to SBU.

My home warranty is American Home Shield. I know others have had bad experiences with them, but I haven't.

[globe9]

I'm going to listen . Just wasn't sure what standard operating procedure was on something like that. I had a coworker who owns a 5,000 sq ft McMansion on the golf course in Firewheel tell me to always ask for a new A/C b/c its TX, whatever the heck that means. I knew she was wrong, unless you grossly overpaid for a home. I'm happy with this little home and would hate to lose it over something like that. A bad foundation, yes. An old A/C, no. Thanks again for the advice. I just wanted to check.

I'm going to have to see what warranty company we are getting and research them though.

[mSooner]

Honestly, I would have negotiated the age of the A/C into the price of the original offer. When we were looking, we noted the make and serial number of the furnace and A/C and called the companies to determine age.

Also, pay very close attention to what a home warranty covers. They are likely going to fight you tooth and nail over replacing a large item. We are unhappy with the service we have received from our home warranty company over a relatively minor issue. Also, one of my friends was out a large chunk of cash when her A/C went out. The warranty didn't cover it because of some little detail. They are still trying to recover from that.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by mSooner

Honestly, I would have negotiated the age of the A/C into the price of the original offer. When we were looking, we noted the make and serial number of the furnace and A/C and called the companies to determine age.

Also, pay very close attention to what a home warranty covers. They are likely going to fight you tooth and nail over replacing a large item. We are unhappy with the service we have received from our home warranty company over a relatively minor issue. Also, one of my friends was out a large chunk of cash when her A/C went out. The warranty didn't cover it because of some little detail. They are still trying to recover from that.

There's lots of fine print for sure but it was a godsend when my hot water heater was leaking gas and the house's gas lines needed $2k worth of work before Atmos would turn the gas on again. (In winter.)

[Squirl]

I own rental property. I have found replacing old water heaters can be more of a POA than HVAC. Here's why: old water heaters are typically not installed to today's codes. A (not handyman) conventional company who replaces water heaters may demand that you obtain a permit to replace it if your city has new code requirements (depends on city, Irving has that requirement). So that might mean some modifications. If your house is on pier and beam, less difficult. But if on a slab and your water heater is in an internal closet with no drain to outside, that means modifications to get to present code. Your $500 water heater replacement can wind up easily being $3000.

A comment on the home warranty company. Be sure the policy covers stuff like the above. They might buy you a new water heater if the old one fails, but they won't cover work to bring the new install up to code. I once got one for a house built in 1950 and later discovered the warranty company covered for houses up to 20 years old and you had to buy and special upgraded policy (offered after new one issued, for older houses). I only found out about it after closing in the literature sent to me in the mail by the warranty company. I also once got a home warranty on a house and the AC went out. They wouldn't cover the repair because they said the unit had not been properly maintained by the prior owner and was dirty so they wouldn't cover. My inspector never said anything about it.

Just giving you something to think about.

[EDS_]

1. I'd be stunned if any warranty company would cover a 20yo AC unit to any significant degree.
1A. I'd also scour power bills. Sometimes old AC works efficiently. Sometimes old AC costs a marginal $250/300 a month during our hot months.

2. I totally disagree with the comment above about working items not being fair game for price considerations or replacement demands. An example might be lead water pipes. They can work just fine but I'm not buying if they exist and they seller won't replace them or credit me at 100% of a reasonable estimate. Same thing with roofs and AC. It happens everyday.

3. If you can't get the seller to replace the water heater replace it the day you move in. Old water heaters are ticking time bombs. - well flooding bombs.

4. I'd ask about the AC. It's going to crap out. A 20 year old AC unit around here is like a 30yo cat or a 50yo horse. It's going to crap out and soon.

5. It may well be that the seller already bundled a discount into the price of the home for these items. The market for good homes has turned the corner. If you become emotionally involved over the AC and water heater the seller may tell you to take a hike.