Old furnace in house purchase.. post inspection.

16 years ago

Hello

I need some help. I am purchasing a home and god willing closing in 2 weeks. Had home inpsection today, the 22 year old Bryant furnace is definetly past its useful life and most likely in need of repair. It shuddered starting up, the draft induce ran for some time before igniting burners, once ignited it took even longer for blower to ignite, seems the electric start kept trying to keep burners lit. Finally the blower kicked on. The inspector didnt deem it "defective" since it finally started running, and recomended a HVAC contactor take a look because its beyond the scope of a general home inspection. My opinion, with some but limited HVAC knowledge, it is dead... definetly not effficient, and quite possibly a safety hazard.

I would like a new sealed combustion unit installed with matched AC unit.

I dont feel comfortable sleeping in home without clean and check from an HVAC company. Midwest weather is looming. If you were moving into home in 2 weeks and you couldnt get back into home for a few estimates for replacement, or a clean and check until a few days after you take possession, how would you proceed?

If at clean and check from HVAC co. they find the heat exchanger shot, is that something I can later seek reimbursement from seller. Obviously old doesnt mean seller is responsible, but funky starting furnaces, possible cracked heat exchangers would be? Please help...

Comments (8)

triciae
16 years ago
At this point, nobody is "responsible" for replacing the HVAC system.

It's a matter of value. If you don't like the heating system after your HI, go back to the seller with a reduced offer reflecting whatever you feel is appropriate to replace the furnance.

No, after you close you cannot then go back & tell the seller to replace what is then 'your' furnace. That's one of the reasons you had the HI performed...to make intelligent decisions regarding how the property's structural systems relate to your purchase price. Quite possibly, the fact that the property has an older furnance is already built into the price. For example, if you purchased a 1970s house...you may very well be purchasing a 37 year old furnance along with thirty year old wiring, plumbing, windows, etc. And, your price point is probably considerably less than if you were buying new construction of similar style, size, location, etc.

/tricia
theroselvr
16 years ago
I would get an HVAC person out to see if it is a safety hazard. If it is not, as Tricia says, the house price has most likely been adjusted due to the older unit. It also may pay to have it serviced as they don't make them like they used to.
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van356
16 years ago
Rysox,

Unless I'm missing something, the sequence of operation sounds typical. The draft inducer fan runs for a period of time before the ingnitor gets power. Then the burners ignite. The blower fan will be delayed for a minute or so until the heat exchanger gets up to temp.

If you're closing in two weeks, you may not have time to get a contractor out.
You ask your attorney about putting a couple thousand dollars into an escrow account, in case the contractor finds the furnace needs to completely replaced.

A furnace with an induced fan draft definitely isn't from the seventies.
rrah
16 years ago
Is the furnace gas? If it's gas, you need to have the furnace examined ASAP. If the heat exchanger is damaged or cracked carbon monoxide could be leaking into the house.

Why can't you get back into the house? Is your time for inspections and responses past? In instances like this I recommend my buyers pay an HVAC person for an additional inspection. If we need to request more time, we do so provided we have not gone past the inspection deadline. The other alternative is that we ask the seller to pay for a professional cleaning/tune-up. Obviously the seller must inform you if something is found with the furnace such as a cracked heat exchanger.

After the closing is too late.
cordovamom
16 years ago
Don't close on the house until you can get a licensed HVAC contractor into the home. Your inspector recommended that an HVAC contractor look at the unit, so this shouldn't be a surprise to the sellers. If an HVAC contractor comes back and says everything is okey dokey despite it's age then it would be unreasonable to ask the sellers for a brand new unit. On the other hand if the contractor says the unit is damaged and possibly even a safety issue then you can go back to the seller and renegotiate. The price you've paid for an older home may already reflect the fact that it's an older home and furnace and the seller may not give any additional price concessions, but then again they may.

Once you've closed on the home you've bought it, the furnace and all it's problems are yours.
logic
16 years ago
Get it checked NOW before closing, in order that you have an opportunity to negotiate, and get a second opinion if need be...or, forever hold your peace.
You don't get to hold the seller responsible for a problem you already knew may exist, but neglected to follow up on prior to closing....and, if the furnace does need to be replaced, don't expect the seller to foot the bill (if they foot the bill at all) for anything more than a comparable unit....as opposed to the aforementioned high efficiency model.
brickeyee
16 years ago
Most inspection clauses have a time limit to raise issues.
Read your contract and see if you are out of the window.
You may not be able to hold the seller responsible for anything if you missed the window, and even if you are in the window it is subject to negotiation.
tom418
16 years ago
When selling my former house, I was told by many lookers that the burner was old. It was a cast iron boiler, and very efficient. My oil burner service guy said that if I ever wanted to "upgrade" to a "Burnham" or whatever, he would take the old furnace.

The Burnham I have today in a 10 yr old house is 80% efficient. Far less than my "old" cast iron one. Had anyone approached me with a reduced offer because of my old boiler, I would have shown them the door.

Old furnace in house purchase.. post inspection.

Comments (8)

triciae

theroselvr

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