Advice on replacing home HVAC cheaply?

We're trying to sell a small residential rental property and a huge stumbling block has been the HVAC system, which--though it works fine--is 20 years old and uses R-22 refrigerant which has been banned.  I'm interested in replacing the system to help the place sell, but after taking a couple bids I'm about done,  I have no interest at all in paying top dollar for the equipment + install labor + a salesman's commission + a company's cut.

Have any advice for getting a good deal?  Are there any hardware brands that I should absolutely stay away from?  Thanks!

Surely there are some drop in R22 replacement refrigerants that can be used? I still have an R22 system and had some work done on it this Summer. 

Goodman makes good units.

You can replace the 22 with m099 and kick the can down the road to whoever buys it, or just buy more 22 since you can still buy it, it's just expensive as E36 M3.

If it works fine I might be tempted into getting it 'serviced', and stating this fact in the advertising. (HVAC just serviced and Ducts Cleaned!!!) Then take $X thousand dollars and put it into shiny stuff that will better help the place sell.

If you can do some work yourself, buy the furnace/a coil/ac unit on ebay and install, then get a CL HVAC guy to make the final hookups, check your work, etc.

It will be much cheaper.

First result:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/96-Up-Flow-80K-btu-Natural-Gas-Furnace-3-Ton-13-SEER-AC-Complete-System-6/283369621637?hash=item41fa254885:g:OVkAAOSw7OdcTfCa

I took the route suggested by jamscal.

I already had a Goodman furnace and evap coil.  It was installed in 2012 by the previous owner but they never went the rest of the way to add A/C.  I bought the compressor/condenser, installed the electric, then had an A/C guy come out and run the lines and charge it.

I went with an Amana, mostly because it was inexpensive, but my options were limited in the small size I needed.  It's only an 835 sf house in PA, and I was limited to either a 1-ton or 1.5 ton given the size of the ducts and evap.  I went 1.5T because I could get a higher seer and because of future plans to cut down two trees shading the house.

Curtis said:

I took the route suggested by jamscal.

I already had a Goodman furnace and evap coil.  It was installed in 2012 by the previous owner but they never went the rest of the way to add A/C.  I bought the compressor/condenser, installed the electric, then had an A/C guy come out and run the lines and charge it.

I went with an Amana, mostly because it was inexpensive, but my options were limited in the small size I needed.  It's only an 835 sf house in PA, and I was limited to either a 1-ton or 1.5 ton given the size of the ducts and evap.  I went 1.5T because I could get a higher seer and because of future plans to cut down two trees shading the house.

That's exactly what I did.  First I bought a Furnace and installed it my self. Then I tore the house down but saved the furnace and most of the duct work. When the replacement house was up and in need of  a furnace I slid it over and hooked it up.  
Really simple stuff compared to working on cars.  

Okay--I'm diving in here and ordering a brand new system that I will DIY as much as I can, then get a licensed HVAC contact to finish.  With luck I'll be in for perhaps 40% of the lowest bid I received and save $3,000-4,000.

In reply to nderwater :

Do as much as you can.  Everything from running wiring to running the gas line and exhaust. If you don't feel confident enough to make the connection, leave that, but everything you leave undone may cost you far out of line to what the actual cost should be.  
Ask for a per hour charge.  
or you might contact your local utility company to do a safety check on an install. 

Just be sure however you do it you get a valid warranty.  Most require a licensed HVAC guy do the install. 

In reply to spitfirebill :

Or you can check before you buy that the warranty will be honored regardless of who does the install as long as it's done properly.  
Frankly  most people  lose records of every installer especially if it's a previous owner or a developer.  

Careful with ordering your own equipment and expecting a HVAC company to install it. My father tried that and ended up saving about $500. It was not worth the hassle. 

Most hvac supply houses wont even sell to people who aren't contractors.

Toyman01 said:

Careful with ordering your own equipment and expecting a HVAC company to install it. My father tried that and ended up saving about $500. It was not worth the hassle. 

 

On the other hand I bought the furnace my utility company recommended through their supply house.  From the provided quote back then ( About  2003)   I saved $1700 and the utility company does all the service work.  
From the time I picked it up on my way home until it was installed and giving heat was less than 4 hours.  ( it helps that the garage level is also the utility level so I slid it out of the truck right into position ) 

Toyman01 said:

Careful with ordering your own equipment and expecting a HVAC company to install it. My father tried that and ended up saving about $500. It was not worth the hassle. 

 

I looked into doing this when I replaced mine. It would have saved something like 200 bucks for the Goodman setup I settled on. Not worth the hassle. I believe Goodman requires a licensed installer for the warranty (they asked who installed it when I registered the unit) and I would have been ineligible for any rebate through my electric company if I had done the installation work.

If the R22 system still works just have it serviced and run it til it dies. I bought my current place knowing there was a 26 year old AC and oil furnace. It's a huge ask as a seller concession to replace a working unit and most buyers know they won't get it. Unless you're in a hyper-competitive environment I doubt it'll make a difference. If it is just offer them a home warranty for 300-500 bucks which typically covers stuff like that for the first year.

As The0retical says, if it works, just ship it. I'd add, clean it well and get it serviced, make sure the filters are fresh and clean, make sure the mechanical room is clean. That will go a long way to improving marketability.

What is wrong with it?  Why does it need to be replaced? My small house has a system that turned 30 years old in 2019 and while it may not be the most efficient system in the world, it does ok for the size of the house.  The only reason I might replace it is if/when I convert it from oil to natural gas.  The oil burner does need a yearly servicing, which runs me about $360/year (for a service contract).

The way houses sell these days, I'm not sure it would be worth the investment on a flipper house. Have it serviced, show a nice clear fresh service tag. Move on. Increase your asking price by $5K to give yourself extra moving room if a buyer complains about it.

I like Jamscal's idea as well. Clean the ducts, slap on new vent covers, and spend the rest of the money on house flipper type upgrades to make it sell. Floor and Decor has killer deals on cheap crap that can make it look fancy.

In reply to frenchyd :

The problem being, most people don't have the tools or the knowledge to install a modern split heat pump. It's not like hooking up the power and a gas line on a furnace. R410 has to be charged by weight and in liquid form. Most manufacturers will void the warranty if the system is not installed by a certified HVAC tech. You have to call a pro to keep your warranty. If you don't know someone in the business that will do it on the side for cheap, you are stuck calling the HVAC company you just screwed out of the profit of selling a new system. He's not going to give you a cut rate on the install, he's going to make most of that profit anyway on the labor charge. I know I don't do people favors when the call me to install hardware bought somewhere else because it was cheap. 

I've done 5 minisplits myself. It can be done and it's not super hard. I took the chance that it wouldn't bite me in the ass later. So far I've been lucky. I don't think I would do that on a whole house system that cost 3 times as much. 

If the system is working I wouldn't worry about changing it. The system in my house is 16 years old and gets the job done. I won't change it until I can't fix it anymore. The new systems are more efficient, but they are also 10 times more complicated. 

Additional context: the house has been under contract and fallen through twice. Biggest culprits  are HVAC condition and damp in the basement. Trying to get this thing sold!

In reply to nderwater :

Ah... in that case I think you're kinda screwed.  If you do the install yourself, the warranty will probably be minimal to none, as Toyman mentioned.  You might be able to find a contractor willing to knock some $ off the price if you DIY some parts of the install, but it may take some schmoozing. Or you look for a licensed guy who does side work.  That is what my ex- did when we wanted to pre-install the liquid and suction lines for her future A/C system while the walls were open. When she's ready to install the A/C components, she'll call him back to hook up and charge the system.  Not much warranty, however (and as far as I know, she still hasn't done this 6 years later...).

I'm not sure warranty is high on your concerns list if it's just being done to be sold. But it does need to work long enough to get sold, and you do want it to be above board so if permits are required I would get them.

nderwater said:

Additional context: the house has been under contract and fallen through twice. Biggest culprits  are HVAC condition and damp in the basement. Trying to get this thing sold!

Is it near Atlanta? I can tell you I darn near had to bribe the A/C company to install a new unit for my home renovation over here in DeKalb. The building explosion around here has every tradesman booked solid.

Damp basement could be solved with a dehumidifier. I dropped $1,700 installing a whole house unit, but the $200 unit from Home Depot we had temporarily did a pretty good job.

What if you took those A/C quotes and offered to drop the price of the house by that amount? Then throw some marketing speak at it during negotiations: "Well, we didn't replace the A/C because we wanted the next owner to have the freedom to choose the kind of system they prefer. We knocked the price of the house down by $X,XXX to cover a standard replacement, but you would probably want to go with something a lot nicer like a geothermal unit or cold fusion reactor..."