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Old 06-25-2010, 07:55 AM
 
27 posts, read 74,112 times
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Hi all. Would you buy a new house that was built without an air conditioning? The house in question in located in Elbert county and is 2 x 6 construction with foam insulation, fwiw. We have a contract already in place, and please, no flaming me for not realizing this salient (no a/c) fact until after.

We're coming from Texas, so CO temps don't phase us much, but the concept of no a/c? Worried about resale, also.

I would appreciate your thoughts. I'd rather lose earnest money, than...
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Old 06-25-2010, 07:58 AM
 
Location: Denver 'burbs
24,012 posts, read 28,371,583 times
Reputation: 41122
If everything else is to your liking, then why not? If you feel the need to you can always add A/C afterward.
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Old 06-25-2010, 08:00 AM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
8,596 posts, read 14,789,740 times
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In Colorado, yes. You can leave the windows open at night during the spring and summer and it'll cool off nicely.
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Old 06-25-2010, 08:09 AM
 
Location: Denver
4,564 posts, read 10,933,469 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maciesmom View Post
If everything else is to your liking, then why not? If you feel the need to you can always add A/C afterward.
Exactly. When we bought ours there was no a/c. We added it later. But frankly, we rarely use it. Now that a lot of the trees we planted and that our neighbor planted have gotten big, we've noticed it makes a huge difference in the house.
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Old 06-25-2010, 08:13 AM
 
Location: Denver 'burbs
24,012 posts, read 28,371,583 times
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Yep - we lived in our house for 5 years before we added A/C....We did however, put in a whole house fan - well worth the money - to pull the cool air in at night. Unless the weather is really hot (or allergies are acting up), we use the whole house fan more than the A/C still...Much prefer the fresh air to air conditioned air....
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Old 06-25-2010, 08:14 AM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
87 posts, read 345,530 times
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Our house is airconditioned and I thought people were crazy when I heard that many houses here weren't. I moved here from AR and thought there was no way anyone could live without an a/c... that being said I do use mine, but usually one for a couple hours a day. I open my windows at night and cool the house down, then close them during the day and it stays comfortable. Today it's getting close to 100 and yesterday was in the 90s... I have an 8 month old, so I've ran my a/c all day both days. That's the first time this year I've done so. And if it weren't for him, I'm sure we'd be fine/comfortable with just the windows open and celing fans. I think it's just what you get used to.

I agree with pp's... if you like everything else about the house, adding your own a/c is probably a good option rather than loosing a house you really like and "settling" for one you don't like as well but has it already.
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Old 06-25-2010, 09:07 AM
 
Location: Denver, CO
5,610 posts, read 23,249,823 times
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Most new houses in the area do not come with A/C, you have to install that as an extra. No big deal. I wonder what elevation your house is? There are parts of Elbert County that are 6000-7000ft in a pine tree forest, a few degrees cooler than Denver proper. Is it one of the those?
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Old 06-25-2010, 09:08 AM
 
Location: Denver 'burbs
24,012 posts, read 28,371,583 times
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Another thought....you're actually probably better off putting the A/C in later anyway. Having the builder put the A/C in a new house is typically way more expensive (not to mention, you'll be paying for that over the life of the loan) than having it put in after market. This way, you can get bids for the work plus, you might want to add a whole house humidifier...it will help with the static electricity and sinus issues from the dryness....
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Old 06-25-2010, 09:13 AM
 
299 posts, read 710,154 times
Reputation: 172
If you do the math, adding an A/C doesn't magically payoff when you sell the house. Unless the house isn't ducted, which is a whole different story, it's generally not hard to do and the amount that your house will increase in value is approximately the cost of the A/C unit (5-10k) minus any depreciation of the A/C. Buyers like the convenience of a house that already has A/C, but otherwise the value doesn't appreciate with the house so this 'increase to the value of the house' is overrated.

Try the whole house fan! Very useful in CO.
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Old 06-25-2010, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Denver, Colorado
30 posts, read 71,615 times
Reputation: 19
It's not that expensive to add AC here; especially in a newer home. I don't know how much your earnest money is, but don't lose it over AC!! On a typical 2000 sf newer home it'll cost you around 3-4K to add AC. I'd wait to see if you need it; you may be just fine without it. Live in the house for a year first and see which of the above-mentioned ideas will work for you!
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