Are you thinking of selling your home this year? You can probably expect a fairly easy sales process. Houma and Thibodaux were recently named the 10th most stable housing market in the nation, meaning that there are probably no nasty surprises lurking over your real estate horizon.
This makes the prospect of selling your home a little less stressful, but there are certainly other stressors to consider, including what improvement you should make to your home before listing it. Any real estate agent will tell you that a fresh coat of paint in a nice neutral color is guaranteed to make your home more appealing, but there’s less consensus when it comes to replacing major appliances.
Most agents will tell you that there’s more value to be found from replacing visible appliances like stoves and dishwashers than from “invisible” appliances like water heaters and air conditioners, but there are questions to consider before deciding whether to replace your air conditioner or other appliances.
1. How old is it?
One of the biggest factors in choosing whether or not to replace your air conditioner is its age. Air conditioning systems tend to be reliable for about 10 years and then can start experiencing breakdowns. If you replaced your air conditioner less than 10 years ago, you probably don’t need to replace it as part of your home sale.
2. Does it use banned R-22 refrigerant?
You’re not likely to have an air conditioner using R-22 if it’s less than 10 years old, but it’s still a good idea to check. R-22 was the standard coolant for most of home comfort history, but we eventually learned that it’s a dangerous greenhouse gas that can contribute to climate change, so it’s been banned and replaced with R410a as a more environmentally friendly option. If your air conditioning unit uses R-22, you should consider replacing it with a new R410a unit.
3. Would you be replacing it if you weren’t selling?
If your air conditioning is ready to be replaced anyway, you should definitely replace it before selling your home. This will allow you to list “New HVAC” as a selling point and give you greater bargaining power when negotiating price. However, if your AC works like it should and isn’t in constant need of repair, you’d do better putting that money towards the downpayment on your new home.
4. Will it increase the value of the home?
This is an important question to ask because unlike a stove or dishwasher, an new air conditioner won’t add any visual appeal to your home, and with home sales visual appeal is a big factor. That’s why the top five tips to prepare your home for sale all have to do with visual appeal. So when you’re investing money into updates, visible changes have the greatest impact. If the air conditioner is working well and not likely to be used as a bargaining chip for a lower sales price, replacing it may not be necessary.
Should You Consider Replacing Your Existing Air Conditioner Before You List?
As we’ve summarized above, replacing your air conditioner probably isn’t as important as making changes that add visual appeal, if you’re selling your Houma-Thibodaux area home on a budget. But if your air conditioner does need to be replaced before the sale, give Doug’s a call. We’ll help you find the right air conditioner to maximize our home value. (985) 746-1116
