sell my house with broken air conditioner

Dealing with a broken air conditioner in your home is a major hassle. Homeowners have enough stress to handle when maintaining their property. Now your air conditioner is broken. It wasn’t a ghost in your house that was making all that noise. The culprit – the fan in your HVAC unit is completely shot. The heat inside your home is boiling hotter than your temper!

Instead of fixing the unit, many homeowners opt for an easier solution. You can sell a house with a broken air conditioner, whether the real estate market is hot or cold. DIY repairs for HVACs aren’t as easy as homeowners think. Hiring an HVAC company can fix the issue but will be costly. It’s tough to know how to handle a broken AC unit! Let’s review both options.

You can sell your house with a broken air conditioner by finding the right buyer or paying for it to get fixed.

 

Broken HVAC System: Your Options

1. Fix Your HVAC System

Depending on the extent of the damages, fixing a broken air conditioning system costs between $2,500 – $8,500. A brand-new HVAC system can cost more (or less) than that range but will vary based on the size of the property.  Fixing a broken air conditioner yourself is hard. Unless you’re extremely handy, it’s not recommended.

For homeowners that would rather fix their broken HVAC system instead of selling their property, hiring a company is your best bet. During those hot summer months, you’ll want your AC working properly. Especially in hot areas, like California, air conditioning is essential.

2. Add Mini Splits

sell my house with broken HVAC

Mini split air conditioners are a cheaper solution than installing an entirely new HVAC system. A mini split still requires an HVAC company (or another professional) to come out to your home, hard wire the unit into the wall, and install it.

Mini split AC units are much quieter than window AC units – and more efficient. Depending on the labor to install them, a mini split can cost you between $1,000 – $3,500. Larger homes will require more units, which drives the cost up. Homeowners enjoy this middle-ground solution when dealing with a broken HVAC system.

3. Sell My Home with a Broken Air Conditioner

Many homeowners are shocked by the astronomical price that it costs to fix a broken HVAC system. If the issue is internal, drywall will be ripped down to access certain pipes and tubes to complete the repair. Instead, you can sell your home with a broken air conditioner.

There is hope on the other side of this damaged property!

 

How to Sell a House with a Broken Air Conditioner

Finding the right buyer is the key to this quick home-selling process. There are buyers willing to take on a property that has ‘imperfections’. You can sell a home with a broken HVAC system on the market with a licensed realtor.

Selling your home with a faulty AC system this way will notify hungry buyers online. To sellers’ surprise, many online home shoppers intend to fix up a property after purchasing it. Repairing the broken HVAC system is par for the course in their eyes.

House flippers and investors enjoy making offers on homes like this too. Companies that buy houses as-is will be perfectly content with your broken air conditioner. Of course, the condition of your conditioner can affect their offer price. Either way, you’ll find plenty of buyers interested in your home that has a dysfunctional HVAC system regardless of how to try selling it.

 

You Can Sell a Property with a Bad HVAC System

sell home with broken AC unit

The demand from buyers strongly dictates the condition that you can sell your property in. California, for instance, still has strong demand from home shoppers. High interest rates have not slowed them down! You can sell a house in California with a bad HVAC system easily. If your property is located along the coast, air conditioning may not even be necessary.

“Selling a house with a broken HVAC, AKA a mini-split, can be fraught with legalities and it is imperative you disclose any issues clearly to any potential buyers. If you fail to do so you can end up in a world of hurt. I came across a doozy where a real estate investor was trying to sell a wholesale contract to another investor, which at the best of times can be a convoluted grey area. (NB when wholesaling real estate  do not accidentally end up brokering a deal unless you are a real estate agent because this could land you in a ton of hot water.) It turned out the seller did not include a disclosure statement of any kind and the buyer turned around and ultimately ended up with an entirely new air conditioner and furnace at the seller’s expense!” said Matt Martin, of Sell My House Fast, A New Zealand owned and operated house buying company.

“If you are new to investing or are unsure about selling a house I highly recommend you sit down with an attorney like I did. I spent 2 hours reviewing the ins and outs of real estate contracts and my lawyer provided legal insight to ensure I ticked all the right boxes and none of the wrong ones. It was the best cash I have ever spent because it ensures everything is legit.”

Sell and Buy a New Home

Yes, selling a home with a broken air conditioner is stressful. There are many factors to consider and sellers don’t always end up with the offer they want. Don’t fret! There is light at the end of this home-selling tunnel.

Look towards the future and get excited about the next chapter of your real estate life. Homeowners can sell and buy a nicer home than their current residence. Stay strong during the stressful times of dealing with your broken HVAC system.

Negotiate When Selling a House with a Broken Air Conditioner

Don’t expect your broken HVAC issue to be brushed under the rug. Major renovations like this will usually get noticed when your home gets inspected by the buyer. Home inspectors are sharp nowadays.

Note: it’s important to disclose any issues that you know about the property to buyers!

Since a broken air conditioning system is expensive to fix, buyers will likely leverage the repair when negotiating the price. You may receive an offer that’s contingent on you – the homeowner – fixing the broken HVAC unit before selling your home. Sounds terrible, right?

Another route more commonly taken is agreeing on an additional dollar amount to be paid from the seller’s end at closing. This is known as a seller concession because they concede in some way to pay the buyer more. Giving a concession at closing is less stressful than fixing the HVAC system yourself. Stand your ground and have your realtor go to bat for you when negotiating the amount of money you will concede.