I have been on the hunt for a two bedroom home or a comparable condominium.
The property values in my city and the surrounding areas are high, but they’re not catastrophic like California or New York City. It’s still frustrating to find barely passable houses that need a lot of work selling for the amount you’d pay for a gorgeous three bedroom house in Arizona or Utah. Even if your budget is flexible, wading through the deception and manipulation is a daunting task. Not only that, but you’re competing every hour with equally hungry buyers also looking for a new nest to call home. One thing that seems consistent in every market I have checked is the effect of major appliance age on home value. Lots of people think of remodeling kitchens and bathrooms and installing new ovens, refrigerators, toilets, sinks, and washers and dryers. But one of the best things you can possibly fix before attempting to sell your home is the entire HVAC system, with the air handler, ductwork, and condenser all included. You could foreseeably continue using a clothes washer for years and years as long as it is fulfilling its primary function of efficiently cleaning your laundry. But heating and cooling systems have a unique level of importance that far exceeds any value from a shiny chrome kitchen appliance. These systems maintain and recirculate the breathing air in the building. An old gas furnace could literally kill someone if there are cracks in the heat exchanger and the device is never repair or replaced. Plus, you’ll know your energy costs will be higher with an old system, so many people have to replace them when buying old houses. By removing that extra step, you have a considerably higher chance at enticing as many buyers as possible.