Walked through a Decatur open house and noticed a major HVAC flaw

I checked out a 3 bed 2 bath in Decatur last Saturday and the AC unit in the back was clearly undersized for the square footage. The realtor was talking about updated kitchen counters but the upstairs bedroom was 10 degrees hotter than the rest of the house. Has anyone else run into sellers hiding HVAC problems here in Atlanta?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee6893d ago

Man that sucks. I had a similar thing happen when I bought my place a few years back, ended up having to replace the whole system a month in. What worked for me was getting an HVAC guy to come take a look during the inspection period, not just the regular home inspector. He found the ductwork was all jacked up and the unit was way too small for the house. I was able to get the seller to knock off $3k from the price to cover part of a new system. Saved my butt.

jordan_henderson133d ago

My friend did that when he bought his place in 2019. He paid an HVAC guy like 150 bucks to tag along during the inspection. That guy spotted the AC unit was from 2005 and the furnace had a cracked heat exchanger. They got the seller to put 5 grand in escrow for replacements. Your mileage may vary but I think spending a little extra for a specialist during the walkthrough is totally worth it compared to finding out later.

kellygrant2d ago

Jordan's right that it's smart to bring an HVAC person along, but I'd go a step further. A lot of home inspectors are generalists and can miss stuff like a unit that's been patched up enough to pass a quick look but is on its last legs. Spending that extra $150 or so up front can save you thousands down the road, and it gives you something solid to negotiate with.