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Yes replace it. Most people won’t want to spend 10000 in cash right after closing on a home. If you do the work and just charge more for the house that cost is rolled into the mortgage payment. As of 2020 the old formula Freon cannot be added during a repair. So don’t count on any quick fixes.
I would just put it out there and let the buyers make up their minds. I’ve seen some real crap holes sell for asking price. Just because one person walks away doesn’t mean they all walk away. If someone wants to negotiate the price a bit sure negotiate. I wouldn’t go dumping 25k in a house unless you add at least 5k on top of that 25,000
I agree. Besides, I can't afford to spend $25k and pay a real estate commission, too. I expect my house to sell for less than I paid because prices have depreciated, so I'll have a loss on that.
I got an ins. policy on a house with a 17 yr old roof, and then I changed ins. cos. last years and got a policy on a house with an 18 yr old roof (w/full roof coverage). Liberty Mutual. (I have 25yr architectural shingles, I think is what the inspector told me.)
But you're right...Allstate and State Farm in our area won't give full roof coverage for an old roof. They will either prorate the coverage on the roof (which gives almost no coverage on it), or they will exclude roof coverage entirely.
Architectural roofs have 25yr+ lifespan. So an 18 year old roof should have 7 years life left, but it could have much less or even more, depending.
Regular roofs have, what...a 15 yr lifespan?
So it depends on the roof. When I replaced my roof in Dallas years ago, I replaced it with an impact resistant long-life roof....with a 50+ year lifespan.
OP where I live your house would not pass an inspection for insurance. We bought a house with a 15 year old roof and they gave us 3 months to replace it. We had to upgrade plumbing and wiring, too.
I recently viewed a home (to purchase where both the roof and ac were past their useful life and though we liked the house we had to pass on it - didn't want $20,000 in repairs upfront and I doubt it would have passed inspection anyway. If I were you, I would replace.
As an HVAC engineer, I can emphatically say I have no problem with Goodman units and often recommend them to people. I will probably be putting one in my home when I replace ours next. The warranty is good, the units are commonly/easily serviceable (even easy to service yourself depending on the issue), the parts are common, the price is competitive, and many people don't actually utilize the additional features that more expensive units offer anyway. Besides, for residential HVAC, the installation is way, way more important than the product you are putting in.
Trane is solid. Nothing wrong with them (though expensive to repair, especially for the variable stage units). They are just overpriced by many installers so I would not put one in myself.
PS be careful of people who tell you that a Goodman unit is only going to save you $X. A lot of times the residential HVAC people flat out don't want to sell you the cheaper unit. They will be a Carrier or Trane rep shop. So, they will tell you the Trane full variable speed compressor and matched indoor unit is X and the Goodman 16 SEER unit is "only $700 cheaper". But if you look at the wholesale price of the equipment, the units are easily like $1500+ cheaper. They just don't want to sell you the cheaper unit. And if you really push for it, they will sell it to you, at a huge markup. I have called peoples' BS on this several times, since I have access to wholesale pricing.
Many sellers tend to sell with aging roofs & a/c systems, which irked me a lot when I was house hunting.
Ouch, this is painful! But I think you might consider that many (most?) potential buyers will have the same reaction you did. In a slow market, you want to be the property that says: New Roof!!! New AC!!
As you have pointed out, you may not be able to sell at all within two years. If you don't fix these problems, you could suffer through one or more summers nursing an ancient AC system through a couple of repairs, and then find out by the time the market improves you need to replace it anyway. Same with the roof; by the time you sell, the roof will be even further into disrepair and you will still have to replace it or take a beating on price.
It's expensive, but my $0.02 is fix both, enjoy them for your time remaining in the house & then advertise the property as both charming and well-kept.
I agree. Besides, I can't afford to spend $25k and pay a real estate commission, too. I expect my house to sell for less than I paid because prices have depreciated, so I'll have a loss on that.
How long have you lived in the house? Are you saying even after satisfying what's left on the loan you wouldn't have enough to pay the commission?
Regarding the houses you mentioned in your neighborhood that took 1.5-2+ years to sell, what condition were they in? If normal houses in pretty good condition take that long to sell, a house needing a $7K+ repair to even live in (AC in the deep south) is going to take even longer if it sells at all.
Originally I was thinking not to worry about the roof if there are no issues that you're aware of, but now this thread has me nervous with people saying insurance companies won't cover 15-year old roofs. Mine is about 15 years old now (bought the house 1.5 years ago) and I don't recall any specific issues about it other than calling out it may need to be replaced in 5-10 years.
On the other hand, he could market it as is and if that doesn't work then replace the roof and AC. Replacing the systems is a permanent decision, deferring replacement is not a permanent decision.
On the other hand, he could market it as is and if that doesn't work then replace the roof and AC. Replacing the systems is a permanent decision, deferring replacement is not a permanent decision.
But OP may still need to spend $1100-$1500 to repair the AC if it's not replaced.
Regarding Trane vs Goodman: The main difference is in available options.
The quality of the installer is much more important than minor differences in equipment manufacturers.
And there are two other factors:
Quality installers install quality equipment because they don't like warranty replacements.
Quality manufacturers work with quality installers, because they don't like warranty replacements either.
Look for the best reputed installer in your area. If that's the Trane installer, and he also installs Goodman, then go with the equipment that has the features you want at the price you want.
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fix em both
