Uncategorized

Three Air Conditioning & Heating Questions Every Homebuyer Should Ask

For most people, purchasing a home is one of the most important milestones in life. The decisions you make on whether or not to buy a specific home depend on many factors – space, location, rooms, features, appliances included, and others. When it comes to the home comfort system, it’s crucial that you become acquainted with the current condition of the air conditioning and heating system, of any home you are considering purchasing. Knowing what to look for when it comes to an air conditioning and heating system will save you time and money. Three questions every home buyer should ask prior to committing to any home purchase:

  1. How old is the system?

It’s critical that you are given information on the age of every component of a home’s cooling and heating system – the furnace, the air conditioning unit, the thermostat, and the duct work. Its life expectancy is approximately 10-13 years with proper maintenance. After 10 years, however, it’s a given that you’ll be needing to call Sanborn’s Air Conditioning and Heating for services in California more and more often, as issues are going to arise more frequently. If you discover that equipment in a home is more than a decade old, it shouldn’t rule out the purchase of the home completely, but you should realize the potential for increased costs to you for repairs and replacement.

  1. Is there a warranty on the air conditioning and furnace in California?

It’s always best when you are interested in purchasing a home with an air conditioning and heating system that still has warranties intact; however, if you find a home without active warranties for its system, that alone isn’t enough to disqualify the home from the buying process. However, it’s important that you keep in mind the possible ramifications of not having this warranty. Most modern systems come with lifetime warranties, which sounds great – until you realize they are void the minute a new homeowner signs the contract. Warranties also may become invalid if the original system purchasers fail to have our experts come out annually for preventive maintenance work.
Some warranties allow transfers of owners, but others do not. It’s not uncommon for buyers to ask that an aftermarket warranty be included with the purchase of a home. As an alternative, many buyers also often will negotiate a lower purchase price and then handle any warranties and/or replacements as they become needed.

  1. Is there current service history on the air conditioning and furnace system, provided by a AC services in California?

Viewing the most recent service report provided by a certified technician, will allow you to get some insight on: previous problems, past remedies and repairs, and also how long it has been since the system was last checked. It’s critical that regular repair and preventive maintenance has been done in order to keep a system operating safely and efficiently.
By asking the right questions above, making sure you do your due diligence–recovering key information from a certified technician–you’ll be able to save yourself potential future expenses and grief. Knowing exactly what you are purchasing when it comes to your home comfort system will give you a distinct advantage in making a sound home-buying decision.
For all your cooling and heating needs in California, call Sanborn’s Air Conditioning and Heating! Our service technicians are proud to serve Redlands, CA and all surrounding areas!