Sell it for the land value and get into a heather environment. You shouldn't be living with mold even if your not allergic.

The Catch:

The home's market value cannot justify the cost of installing an expensive HVAC system.

Unless you are planning to one day turn this into a rental OR expect the area to undergo a sudden pricing improvement you will likely never get your money out of it.

If money is of no concern... go for it.

Otherwise the writing is on the wall... sell it. (Curious where is this house located?)

I have an older (e.g. 125 years!) house with similar AC problems, but not the mold. I use inexpensive, lightweight, highly efficient window units which I take out each year. I have four of them, 3 in bedrooms and one in the dining room. Other than the annoyance of their blocking the windows they are in, it's a perfectly satisfactory solution. I think they cost $125 each.

We have already put more money into remodeling the kitchen (and coming up next, the bathroom) than we wanted to. The area itself is a good area and home values are good; it's just our house that is in the lower range because of it's age and condition. Our house was not built correctly by the original owners; they made mistakes in construction that we have had to correct along the way. In most homes, when you do a kitchen remodel, you can expect some return when you sell the house. But our house is one that you cannot have that expectation with; every dollar spent on the kitchen remodel was for my sanity, not for resale value.

We are not wanting to move for another 5 yrs, but we want to do something to improve our air quality while still living in it.

We are at the point now that the cost of purchasing the property + cost of renovations = the fair market value, if we sold it today. So in other words, if we were house flippers, which we are not, we would be breaking even if we sold it today. I don't want to get too much deeper into this. If we were planning on being here for 20+ yrs then it would be worth some bigger bucks to put in something expensive.

mtvhike,

Just curious, do you have any black mildew or mold growing in your AC units? Do you clean them annually? Perhaps we should have 1 small AC in each room as well. But what to do about the bathroom? Perhaps some kind of air flow vent between one of the bedrooms and the bathroom?

So in other words, if we were house flippers, which we are not, we would be breaking even if we sold it today. I don't want to get too much deeper into this.

You have to understand that home ownership is often times trade offs... you get the use out of something for a period of time. What's the value in that? I understand the conundrum of thinking you are losing money over this or that. But there is a use factor while you are living there.

Kitchen remodels or any remodel if you are paying for this service to a contractor to perform it's quite rare that it will pay you back every nickel you spent on it. But because you live there, you get to 'use' it for a time. What is that worth?

If your time horizon is less than 5 years at this property you're in a big crunch as to what to do, which do you value more? (money or comfort?)

Realize though that someone will need to be convinced to buy this eventually when you finally do decide to leave. So think about this conundrum more about than just merely not being profitable.

If your motivation is purely to be profitable, fix it up -- spend the money... get the use out of it. Then when you move rent the property for a time to recoup the expenses. Being a landlord isn't for everyone, but if you want to be 'profitable' it's one way to get money out of a property.

If you don't want to be a landlord (later on) your options are few to get what you want / how you want to live in such a short period of time [5 years].

A good sized attic fan could help you get fresh air and air movement in all the rooms at least part time.

Regarding maintenance of the AC units, nothing except cleaning them. We don't try to cool the bathrooms - leave the door open when not in use. Both bathrooms have openable windows, which we do when the weather is mild. This is on Long Island, NY.

A house with major construction defects, mold issues, and without central air and heat wouldn’t be very sellable in most places described a “nice, with good values”. Nor would it be very rentable, except to a lower tier renter.

If the area is nice, it should have been a teardown when you bought it. As a resale, that’s likely what it should be marketed as since you have all of these major issues. That means accelerating your selling and moving plans to do that now, before the market cools.

Or accept that you are going to be there longer than you think, and invest in the ductwork, air handler, furnace, and condenser, that it would take to install central HVAC into the home. A 1000 sf house shouldn’t be more than 15K for that investment. And then you get a handle on the poor air quality, start to address the mold, and buy a life that is a whole lot more pleasant. People take vacations for far less enjoyable experiences than regularly coming into a cooler less humid house on a 98 degree 90% humidity day.

Wall unit air-conditioner, need to put hole in wall. At least a dehumidifier for the room with problem.

My idea is to use a purifier and dehumidifier as needed. I think that ordinary gadgets will be enough to solve the mold problem. You can read experts advise on this blog. This is the only option without big investments that comes to my mind. Of course, a complete treatment of walls and floors with modern chemistry from a mold is required.