Buying a house in Central Indiana? Read the serial number before you write the offer

The furnace is one of the most expensive items in a home. Don’t rely on someone’s memory of the install date.

1. The serial number. HVAC makers might print the manufacture date on the unit. Often they don’t. But the date is almost always encoded in the serial number. For example, 3624 can mean the 36th week of 2024. Every brand does it a little differently, but the date is in there.

2. The half-life discount. An HVAC system can cost roughly $10,000 and last maybe 15-20 years. If it’s halfway through its life, discount half the price of that system off your offer.

3. The ugly baby. A seller never wants to hear “you’re WAY overpriced” (aka: your baby is ugly). Compare these:

“We’re asking $X off because the most comparable sale, at your list price, had a brand new HVAC this year. Yours is 10 years old. Here’s how we got to $XXX.”

Or: “This is our price. Take it or leave it.”

4. “Unknown.” A seller with a new furnace can tell you the brand, the install date, and the technician’s middle name. Old gets hidden behind one word: unknown. When a buyer sees “unknown,” they don’t price the likely outcome. They price the scary one.

• Older home: read the serial numbers. Is there a permit on file for every addition?
• Acreage: the well, the septic, the outbuildings.
• Condo or townhome: what the association has saved, and what it plans to charge you for.

5. Your advantage. If you know no one wants a home with an old, undisclosed HVAC, you can swoop in and fix what no one else wants.

Want to talk about your house together? nlamkin@c21scheetz.com

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