So the future Mrs. Rabbit and I just made an offer on a 3 bedroom, 1500 sq ft house, and had the home inspection a couple of days ago.
The only real sticking point from the inspection was the furnace. It’s a 32-year-old Magic Chef. The inspector said that it probably needs to be replaced - it took forever to turn over, the control valve’s probably close to shot, and the heat exchanger is about a year away from rusting out completely.
FWIW, there’s no central air. Our original plan was to put air in after few years once the cash flow situation loosens up (we’d need a couple of cold air returns put in, among other things), but the furnace issue has muddied the timetable a bit.
We’re trying to figure out what a reasonable concession from the owners would be. However, we’re having difficulty finding a price for a replacement unit, since it appears the HVAC systems are priced pretty much like used cars - it’s all the haggling. We’re going to have it inspected by an HVAC specialist, but I’m interested in what y’all have paid for similar work.
I looked into replacement furnaces at one time, but not too seriously, as we ended up just needing to replace the blower. My recollection is seeing them offered at something like $3-5K.
Installing central air may be hard to price out without getting an actual contractor to give you an estimate, since it’s liable to be very case-specific. HVAC work can be surprisingly expensive. You may be able to get a cheaper overall deal if you do the furnace and the AC at once.
My bro just got a replacement furnace, a/c and a new humidifier for $6500 installed. He did get a deal on the price, having responded to an ad. I think the price was reduced because he got both units at once, and it is off season.
When I had central air installed new, it was around $4k. I also spent $1200 on a fancy air filter.
Both of us have forced air systems and houses similar in sq ft to yours. This is in the Cleveland area.
Word. I probably should have mentioned that this is in Cincinnati.
We paid $3200 about 5 years ago.
FWIW, I am an HVAC contractor in Cincinnati.
This is not a play to get your work, nor a sales pitch, but to say I’m really familiar with furnaces, and furnace pricing, in Cincinnati/Dayton.
If this is a negotiating number for an allowance, a good number for a an 80% AFUE furnace with a nominal amount of ductwork and basic filter arrangement and basic stat is $3000…however you should get a nice professional job in the $2000-2500 range. (think really nice Chevy)(and as a point of reference, we will sometimes go as low as $1900 for a basic system for a rental house for example)
If you wish a higher efficiency -----95-96%-----allow for $4500-5500 with a nice filter arrangement and programmable stat. (think nice Buick)(and done for $3500-$4500)
There is a 98% efficiency unit with a variable speed blower (really nice) and that system with a nice 4" pleated media filter and Honeywell Vision Pro 8000 stat will run $5000-6000 (think Cadillac, with geothermal being a Mercedes)(and done for $4000-$5000)
Unfortunately, there is often a wide gap between pricing. Often there is a direct correlation between pricing and quality, however. I would advise installing at least the evaporator right now, if its in the budget. “You get what you pay for” applies, so be careful of who you do business with. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
If you have questions offline you may PM me and I can give you my 200 pesos.
ETA
Those are I-haven’t-seen-the-site-internet prices. The numbers have to be seen that way, so don’t take them to the bank. YMMV.
About 8 years ago it was $3600 and included central air. Michigan.
That’s awesome, raindog! Thanks for the info.
After talking it over with our agent, we’re going to put a repair/replace clause in the post inspection sales agreement addendum, because with the current state of the unit, there’s no way that the home warranty will cover it.
We fully expect the sellers to replace it with something closer to the low end of the range. Seems like a waste to then rip the thing out in a couple of years when we upgrade the rest of the system, but it beats having it conk out on us next winter, leaving us in the cold.
Of course, if they want to contribute a three grand or so in cash rather than deal with the hassle of getting it replaced sometime in the next two months, I’m going to be receptive to their offer…
Speaking as a home buyer, but a home buyer who has seen many HVAC installations that sellers had to do to affect a real estate sale, I can tell you that the standard MO for the seller is to find every/any jackleg, shade tree bum to slam a furnace in.
They’re moving so there is only one criteria: price. Quality, brand, efficiency, material selection, comfort, workmanship etc mean nothing.
YMMV. But I would never allow a seller to put the furnace in. Never. As a point of comparison, if a quality installation has a low price range of $2000, and a high price range of $2800 for a given hypothetical example, the average seller will find a way to get it done for $1250. The brand will be sub-par, the workmanship will suck, the performance will be sketchy.
But you’ll have a new furnace.
IMV, the better approach is to get 3 prices from the highest priced contractors in the area (who are also known to do good, responsible work) and use those [high, but reasonable and responsible] prices to negotiate an allowance (thats also built into your loan so you have the cash in hand) and get the work done yourself. (by a good, but more responsibly priced contractor)
A year and a half ago we purchased a small house. It had not heat. At the same time that I had the inspections done I had several heating meet us and give us bids to install forced air heating. Then we mad a offer to the seller to install forced air heating system at a cost to the seller of not more than $5,100. The sell did agree. If we were considering AC at a later date I would have asked for a heating system that AC could have been added at a later date.
I just received an estimate for an American Standard, 95% efficient, 2 stage, variable speed 80K BTU gas furnace for $5600. This also includes a new a/c coil and programmable thermostat. I’ll use the existing ducts and a/c condensing unit.
I live in VA.
We replaced ours in 2008 - we got a new Carrier, but not the top efficiency as we didn’t have the correct venting in place to take advantage of it (and putting it in woulda cost a fortune). Our house is 2200 sq. ft. (I think; we’ve a half finished basement and two stories) and I think the whole thing was in the neighborhood of $5500.
Maybe I just got lucky. 12 years ago I purchased a unit for $1000 installed. I say “purchased” but it was from a guy who knew a guy and it was cash under the table. It was for about a 900 sq. foot house.