Hi there! I’m Sarah Maiga, your go to real estate expert & Broker of Maiga Homes Luxury Real Estate.
Today’s topic in our series: Inspection Pitfalls & FAQs will cover: How Much is is it Going to Cost to Fix a Home’s Major Mechanicals?
Let’s first begin this discussion with identifying: What are the Major Mechanicals? The major mechanicals include: Heating and Cooling, Hot Water Heaters, Plumbing, and Electrical Systems.
For most homes, the Heating and Cooling systems include the furnace, air ducts, and air conditioning unit. Some homes, however, have a boiler system and baseboard heating. We’ll discuss both options.
Let’s start with a forced air furnace, as this is what the majority of you will use. A furnace is a forced air system that uses a heat source (electricity, natural gas, or propane) to increase the temperature of a volume of air. That air is then forced through the home using the air ducts. On the low end, a furnace can cost as little as $2,000 to replace. Higher efficiency furnaces, however, can cost as much as $5,500 to replace. Also keep in mind that this does not include any labor or installation of air ducts, if those needs to be altered for any reason. Plus if you’re purchasing a bigger home or a home that has more than one furnace, then you would need to factor in the cost for either or both units when evaluating your potential investment.
Most homes in Michigan have what is called a split system for their central air conditioning. This consists of the outdoor unit, or the condenser unit that contains the compressor and an indoor unit, usually located near the furnace, that contains the evaporator coil. The cost to replace an air conditioning unit varies from approximately $2,500 to $7,500. If, however, you bundle and replace both the furnace and the A/C at once, most HVAC companies will give you a discount.
While a relatively small number of homes in Michigan use a boiler system for heat, many owners can find this system preferable as the ductless system can lead to less dust in a home and better air quality, and overall the systems are said to be quieter and more energy efficient. A boiler system also requires a heat source, that is usually natural gas or electricity. As opposed to blowing hot air, boilers heat up water and pump the heated water throughout the home, using radiant flooring, cast iron radiators, or baseboard radiators. On average, the cost to replace a boiler is approximately $3,500 to $8,000, while the cost to replace a baseboard radiator is approximately $500 to $1,000 for each unit.
Next, let’s talk about a mechanical that’s a bit more simple to visualize: the Hot Water Heater. Hot Water Heaters need a heat source that is either electric or natural gas and a water hookup. Most homes will have a 40 to 50 gallon hot water tank, which will cost about $600 - $1,800 to replace. Tankless water heaters are a bit more expensive, at about $1,000 to $3,000 to replace, however, they are more energy-efficient and provide an unlimited supply of hot water on-demand.
Plumbing in a home maintains a critical component of your day to day activities. Without running water, all sorts of challenges can arise. That’s why it’s important to maintain this very integral system. In older homes, you may see cast iron or galvanized steel pipes. These pipes can rust, corrode, disintegrate, and cause all sorts of challenges. Updated materials for plumbing may consist of copper, PVC, or PEX tubing. For a 1,500 sq ft home, the approximate cost to fully replumb a home is said to be about $2,000 - $4,000. Keep in mind that this will vary due to the number of fixtures, bathrooms, or the distance from the kitchen to the laundry, and to the sewer lines.
The Electrical System in a home is a complex system that starts with the incoming power line and an electric meter. Within the home you will have your main service panel along with subpanels, wiring, electrical boxes, outlets and switches. If your home was built prior to 1940, you should certainly consider updating the electrical system if this has not been done already. This will include updating the main electrical panel, at approximately $1,300 to $4,000, replacing the wiring through the home at approximately $1,500 to $2,500, replacing outlets and adding GFCI outlets where needed. If your home was built after 1940, you should consider some of these updates, but maybe not all, as electrical standards have improved over the years.
I hope I have given you a lot to think about and that you’ve learned a lot from today’s blog.
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As always, if you think you may want to make a move in the next year, give me a call and set-up a consultation today as I create custom moving plans for all of my clients up to a year in advance.
And, don’t worry, if I am not able to personally assist you, I am well connected and can refer you to a similarly qualified agent anywhere in the world. In fact, if you haven’t yet had a chance, please check out another one of my videos on “ Why You Should Get a Real Estate Agent Referral for an Agent When Relocating” that will teach you all about how realtor-to-realtor referrals work & what to expect when you ask me for one!
You can also check out my other series on: Relocation, Selling a Home, Buying a Home, New Construction, Downsizing, Buying & Selling Simultaneously & more!
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next time.
