There really was no way for the inspector to find this. Even if they wanted to run the AC to test it, it wouldn’t work in cold weather. That’s standard for an inspection. Bad luck, unfortunately. Welcome to home ownership.
“Welcome to home ownership” that is true brotha😅 luckily I’m pretty handy with anything outside/landscaping. But fall short when it comes to these things lol
Same, I can cut trees, mow lawns, and dig holes. But when my water heater died in the middle of winter…we were boiling water on the stove.
I got pretty tired of getting burned by the whole experience and having everyone tell me “that’s just the way it is”. So I started working on trying to figure out a solution.
If you’re open to sharing your experience or interested in testing out a few homeowner tools I’m building clearcasa.co and would be pumped to send you an invite.
I'd go one step further and reiterate the best advice I'd ever gotten : it's easier and cheaper to maintain things than it is to fix.
So when testing, don't just ignore little things. Fix them before they become big things.
I mean… you fix it.
Unclear if the unwritten ask in here is whether you can somehow come after the people who sold you the house?? No to that. That’s what your inspection was for, but as another person said it would’ve been pretty tough to catch this one. You’d also have to prove the sellers knew about it and left it off their sellers’ disclosure regarding the state of things, which is way more trouble than just fixing the AC unfortunately
20 years is hitting end of life for a lot of major systems - roof, furnace, and ac are all typically replaced in the 15-25 year time frame. You may want to start saving for the next major breakdown.
As far as next steps: window acs are a cheap, quick and easy fix for right now, so that you don't feel rushed into spending more money. Take the time to learn a bit about the topic and double check what the company is telling you, ask around for recommendations from neighbors, etc. You may end up saving thousands that way (ex: if your furnace is also 20 years old, maybe replace both the ac and the furnace with mini splits instead of dropping a bunch of money to repair this system, only to have the heating fail next winter, and the compressor the year after that).
Once it’s fixed, schedule maintenance visits twice a year, once before it gets cold for the season (so whatever that is for your area, like October) and again in the spring before it gets hot. Then you catch any problems before it really matters.
- $2,000 is close to highway robbery for a simple service call on a HVAC issue so you need to use a better outfit. How much freon did they use and how much did they charge for that?
- how would inspector find issue> leaks happen and no saying that the freon was sufficient in system when it was inspected.
- a new system of 5 years should NOT have any leaks from normal use and wear and tear. But it can happen. HVAC techs can inject a dye and locate MOST leaks, not 100% fail safe
- you have system charged up and see how long it last
- btw, you always check your HVAC system months ahead of use...AC in spring and heat in late summer/early fall. NEVER wait until you need to use it to find out a surprise for obvious reasons
1: Home inspectors are not HVAC techs. The most they would have done is turn it on and seen if it blows air.
2: It’s common for them to skip the AC test if it’s below 60 degrees
3: HVAC issues are common, including leaks. It’s a regular part of homeownership and unless the system is brand new, nobody is gonna warranty that.
4: I don’t know why the hell you paid $2000 for a diagnosis. I just had a full AC inspection/yearly maintenance yesterday for $50, from the most reputable HVAC company in my town.
5: I also bought in the winter, inspector also didn’t test because it was too cold outside. The very first thing I did this year as soon as it was above 60 degrees this year was test my AC. You shouldn’t have waited until it was scorching outside.
Yea, you cannot test the AC under 60 degrees or it gets .... IDK, ruined? Broken? Damaged? Friend of mine bought a 3 story condo and 3 months later paid $20,000 for a new AC system after it went kaput. It happens. Call your closing lawyer and see if there's any recourse from the sellers, but that isn't likely.
Home ownership is having things like this pop up regularly. Be thankful it’s so cheap.
There really was no way for the inspector to find this. Even if they wanted to run the AC to test it, it wouldn’t work in cold weather. That’s standard for an inspection. Bad luck, unfortunately. Welcome to home ownership.
“Welcome to home ownership” that is true brotha😅 luckily I’m pretty handy with anything outside/landscaping. But fall short when it comes to these things lol
Same, I can cut trees, mow lawns, and dig holes. But when my water heater died in the middle of winter…we were boiling water on the stove. I got pretty tired of getting burned by the whole experience and having everyone tell me “that’s just the way it is”. So I started working on trying to figure out a solution. If you’re open to sharing your experience or interested in testing out a few homeowner tools I’m building clearcasa.co and would be pumped to send you an invite.
Tip for the future, test your AC in spring when it gets warm but before you really need it. Then you aren't scrambling to fix it when you need it.
I'd go one step further and reiterate the best advice I'd ever gotten : it's easier and cheaper to maintain things than it is to fix. So when testing, don't just ignore little things. Fix them before they become big things.
I mean… you fix it. Unclear if the unwritten ask in here is whether you can somehow come after the people who sold you the house?? No to that. That’s what your inspection was for, but as another person said it would’ve been pretty tough to catch this one. You’d also have to prove the sellers knew about it and left it off their sellers’ disclosure regarding the state of things, which is way more trouble than just fixing the AC unfortunately
20 years is hitting end of life for a lot of major systems - roof, furnace, and ac are all typically replaced in the 15-25 year time frame. You may want to start saving for the next major breakdown. As far as next steps: window acs are a cheap, quick and easy fix for right now, so that you don't feel rushed into spending more money. Take the time to learn a bit about the topic and double check what the company is telling you, ask around for recommendations from neighbors, etc. You may end up saving thousands that way (ex: if your furnace is also 20 years old, maybe replace both the ac and the furnace with mini splits instead of dropping a bunch of money to repair this system, only to have the heating fail next winter, and the compressor the year after that).
They can't test the AC in January in Colorado. Unfortunately these things happen.
Once it’s fixed, schedule maintenance visits twice a year, once before it gets cold for the season (so whatever that is for your area, like October) and again in the spring before it gets hot. Then you catch any problems before it really matters.
- $2,000 is close to highway robbery for a simple service call on a HVAC issue so you need to use a better outfit. How much freon did they use and how much did they charge for that? - how would inspector find issue> leaks happen and no saying that the freon was sufficient in system when it was inspected. - a new system of 5 years should NOT have any leaks from normal use and wear and tear. But it can happen. HVAC techs can inject a dye and locate MOST leaks, not 100% fail safe - you have system charged up and see how long it last - btw, you always check your HVAC system months ahead of use...AC in spring and heat in late summer/early fall. NEVER wait until you need to use it to find out a surprise for obvious reasons
I’m mind boggled at the $2k service call. He literally got scammed.
- most likely he was
1: Home inspectors are not HVAC techs. The most they would have done is turn it on and seen if it blows air. 2: It’s common for them to skip the AC test if it’s below 60 degrees 3: HVAC issues are common, including leaks. It’s a regular part of homeownership and unless the system is brand new, nobody is gonna warranty that. 4: I don’t know why the hell you paid $2000 for a diagnosis. I just had a full AC inspection/yearly maintenance yesterday for $50, from the most reputable HVAC company in my town. 5: I also bought in the winter, inspector also didn’t test because it was too cold outside. The very first thing I did this year as soon as it was above 60 degrees this year was test my AC. You shouldn’t have waited until it was scorching outside.
Yea, you cannot test the AC under 60 degrees or it gets .... IDK, ruined? Broken? Damaged? Friend of mine bought a 3 story condo and 3 months later paid $20,000 for a new AC system after it went kaput. It happens. Call your closing lawyer and see if there's any recourse from the sellers, but that isn't likely.