Storygirl Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 So our home is on the market, and we had a minor furnace problem (it wasn't kicking on because the access panel was loose). In the process of looking the furnace over, however, the heating guy saw that another part is in poor condition. It is not causing any problems at the moment, but it could fail later on and cause a larger problem with the heating system. It will cost $680 (not sure if this is just for the part; labor may be extra). So do we have an ethical obligation to replace this part for the benefit of the future family that will live here? Or since the part is functioning now and is not actually causing any problems currently, is it okay to leave it as is? We have two mortgages until we sell this house, so we have to consider our finances. We have not had a second opinion yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 $680 isn't that pricy when you consider the whole cost of the home you're selling. If labor isn't too much, I'd replace it now - otherwise it could be much more expensive when the new homeowners realize there's a problem after it fails. Not replacing it seems petty, like taking all the light bulbs out when you leave. Option two, if you genuinely can't afford it, is to inform the buyers about this and let them handle it. What really isn't ethical is to not fix it AND not inform them of a known issue. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5of5 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 If, again, you can't really afford $680, I'd wait on a second opinion before deciding. Assuming, of course, that it wouldn't be very expensive to get it --- some places charge a hefty fee just to come out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 I'll add that DH and are not in agreement about which way to go at this at this point, so I was curious about what others tend to think about this kind of thing. We are not exactly in disagreement either; we just have different points of view, which we are discussing while we are making decisions -- we just got the information within the past hour, so we're still digesting it and thinking about our next steps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 When we bought our house the inspector notice a furnace part in poor condition and we negotiated about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibiche Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 What kind of furnace is it? If I were buying a house and it had an oil furnace I would replace it immediately anyway so it wouldn't matter to me as a buyer if it had a new part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 If you can't afford to fix it and it isn't actually broken right now, I would let it go and then repair it when your buyer's home inspector notices it. Are you sure the part really needs to be replaced? Do you trust that your repairman is telling you the truth? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I wouldn't replace a what if part. ETA: assuming there's no danger potential. Replacing something that might break in the future is not something I'd do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Is this something you would replace now if you were not selling? If so, I would get a second opinion and do it. If it's not something you would normally do to maintain your house, and especially if funds are tight, I would consider not doing it. A good home inspector will catch it, and you'll negotiate about it anyway. Or maybe it's not an issue, perhaps a second opinion would say it's nothing to worry about. A new furnace might be a selling point. A repaired furnace - not so sure on that. If it's old, the buyer might be replacing it anyway. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 You can leave it if it's working but here you're legally required to disclose that it might need servicing soon. If the buyer hires a home inspector, the home inspector would note it or perhaps ask outright "when did you have this last serviced and what the did the service say?"When we were buying, the vendors showed us some service receipts for furnace & hot water tanks... They had to fill out a long form about all aspects of the home & that was given to their realtor who gave it to our realtor & our home inspector. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 What kind of furnace is it? If I were buying a house and it had an oil furnace I would replace it immediately anyway so it wouldn't matter to me as a buyer if it had a new part. Why would the type of furnace make a difference? Plenty of people have oil heat -- but even if they would prefer to change over to gas, they may not be able to afford to do that, particularly when they have just purchased a new house, so the condition of the existing furnace would probably be very important to most buyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 If the part fails will it still cost $680, or will it cause a cascade of problems that cost more to fix. If it's simply a $680 fix at any point, then I'd leave it and let the buyers know of the issue after the offer and before inspection and tell them you'll credit them the $680 at closing, or fix it between contract and closing or some such thing. My answer would change if you're in the part of the country where you have several months of winter left. Here, we're on the verge of spring so the new buyers would have time to replace the part before the fall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I wouldn't fix it but I would disclose and give a reduction in the price or a repair allowance when you get a buyer. Or use it as a bargaining tool. Not disclosing is illegal in most/all states but you are not required to fix it or even offer a discount. Of course that may turn off potential buyers and lead to paying a double mortgage for longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Thanks for your input! We contacted another furnace guy for an opinion (someone a family member trusts), and DH had a follow up conversation with the original repair guy, so we had some additional information available to use while making the decision. We feel the original guy was recommending a repair in order to drum up business, not because it is actually a needed repair at this time. So we're not going to replace it. If a potential buyer has any concerns with the furnace, we'll address them at that time. The house is only six years old, so it's not an old machine. Which is good financial news for us, because we just had to pay to repair damage from a pipe that burst during our recent freeze. And our tv (which is also only six years old) is only working half the time. And our vacuum cleaner started making a funny noise today. Sigh. So...furnace, tv, pipe, vaccuum -- that's three bad things in a row, plus a bonus fourth, so hopefully we're over our spate of bad things happening. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Thanks for your input! We contacted another furnace guy for an opinion (someone a family member trusts), and DH had a follow up conversation with the original repair guy, so we had some additional information available to use while making the decision. We feel the original guy was recommending a repair in order to drum up business, not because it is actually a needed repair at this time. So we're not going to replace it. If a potential buyer has any concerns with the furnace, we'll address them at that time. The house is only six years old, so it's not an old machine. Which is good financial news for us, because we just had to pay to repair damage from a pipe that burst during our recent freeze. And our tv (which is also only six years old) is only working half the time. And our vacuum cleaner started making a funny noise today. Sigh. So...furnace, tv, pipe, vaccuum -- that's three bad things in a row, plus a bonus fourth, so hopefully we're over our spate of bad things happening. I'm glad you got a second opinion on the furnace repair. It's good to hear that you don't need to spend more money on it. :hurray: I was thinking the furnace was probably very old, but at only 6 years old, it doesn't seem right that it would have needed a major part replaced due to age. It sounds like the first guy may have been trying to pull a fast one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Glad you don't have to replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5of5 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Six years old! That furnace would have to be a 'lemon' to require an expense repair so soon! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 some questions to ask yourself. how old is the furnace? how much will it cost to replace the furnace? legally - if you don't disclose this or repair it yourself, you could be held liable because you know about this expensive problem. furnace came up on my dd's home inspection. the seller claimed it was 10 years younger than it was - but there was a sticker on it giving the actual age. the mortgage company had its own rules about what they would allow for furnace age and condition before giving a loan on the house. keep in mind - inspectors may or may not discover things, and mortgage companies have their own ideas about things before they'll make a loan to a buyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinRTX Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I'm glad to see you had a second opinion. I really don't trust most service people. My mom (recently widowed at the time) had the usual yearly maintenance done on her AC system. The guy said it was old and needed replacing immediately. It was so old the parts were not available. She had just lost her husband (my dad) who always handled these things for her. She was panicked and called me crying how she did not have thousands for this repair. We advised against doing anything. The system was working and we would replace only if absolutely necessary. Five years later the system has not been replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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