A month or so ago I spent some time researching various heating systems and the impact those systems have on a homes value. A property had come on the market two doors down from one we bought in August with a totally different heating system. Other than a need for a totally main floor renovation, the homes were pretty much the same. I was trying to determine if my valuation of the home should be different because the home we’d purchased had a brand new heat pump.
Long and boring story short, I concluded that in the area where we’re investing, a high efficiency system or a high end system will attract more tenants and more buyers but will not fetch a noticeably higher rent or purchase price than a home with a regular furnace.
During my research the discussion began to arise around furnaces – and how to maintain them to lengthen their life and minimize repair costs. And a mortgage broker from Ontario who used to service furnaces offered to shed some light on this important issue. Here are his tips to help you minimize the costs surrounding your furnace replacement and repair (which will increase your returns!!). Remember – anything you can do to minimize your expenses helps you MAKE MORE MONEY!! 
Furnace Care and Repair
By Joseph Battaglia
Regular upkeep will go a long way in saving you money and keeping your tenants happy and warm during the cold winter months. Here are a few tips to help you keep your furnace in good working order.
First, if you’re not comfortable with, or don’t feel capable of handling any of the following steps on your own, do yourself a favour and hire a heating and air conditioning professional. At the end of these self maintenance tips, I’ll share a list of what a pro would/could include in a home furnace tune-up.
Keep The Furnace Clean!
A build up of dirt and dust can cause a breakdown of your heating system. It can also reduce the efficiency of your equipment.
The three things on your furnace you want to pay attention to are the furnace filters, the blower and the motor.
The Furnace Filter:
How often you clean or replace your furnace filter will depend on a few factors. If it doesn’t need to be changed yet, why do so? Hold a dirty filter up to a burning light bulb. If you can see a clear outline of the bulb, your filter is still good. When it gets to the point you can’t see the bulb, time for a new one. If there are pets or smokers living in the home you’ll need to change the furnace filter more often.
A good filter will go a long way keeping the A/C coil clean. A clean coil will keep the air moving freely.
You may think changing the filter isn’t that big of a deal, but when your home furnace’s blower motor burns out because your clogged filter restricted too much air flow, you will. A new motor is going to cost you a lot more than a filter.
Furnace Blower & Motor:
Clean the blower assembly using a vacuum. Check to make sure the belt isn’t loose or damaged. Assuming your furnace doesn’t have a sealed blower motor (no belts – its direct drive), put a few drops of oil in the motor. Now the blower motor is running smoothly and efficiently. If you’re home is going to be sold soon you could even use some car wax on the furnace casing. This will prevent the furnace from looking older then its time. You can do that with the central air unit as well!
Maybe do-it-yourself maintenance isn’t your thing. If you decide you’d rather go with an HVAC (Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning) pro prices for a furnace tune-up vary by area, but you’re likely looking in the $100 range. Of course, the services offered with your furnace tune-up may vary too, but here are some of the things you can expect done to keep your heating system in good shape.
A typical furnace maintenance tune-up:
- check the operation of burner
- inspect the heat exchanger
- check the blower operation (clean if needed)
- check the amperage (oil if needed)
- check the fan belt
- check the condensate drain
- check the condensate drain wiring
- inspect the wiring for cracks or loose connections visually inspect the heat exchanger for cracks
- check the calibration and operation of limit controls (limit switch, pressure switch and roll out switch)
- check the fan limit, check the high limits
- check the thermostat calibration and anticipator
- check the operation of the ventor
- check for carbon monoxide near the furnace and throughout the house.
Remember – one of the biggest expenses you’ll have in a home is furnace replacement. When you take steps to maintain your furnace you’ll extend it’s life, minimize your repair bills and maximize the returns you’re earning on each investment property.
http://lifeasrealestateinvestors.com/
http://furnasmanonehourfurnace.ca/
Related Websites - How to Maintain Your Chainsaw When you first purchase a new chainsaw and get it home, it works so well. Unfortunately though, over time chainsaws can start to cause problems for their users, mostly because of improper maintenance. It's not...
- Fish + Food = Fun Keeping a marine aquarium is great. It must be, there are enough people doing it. Reef or fish only, it is a tremendous hobby being educational as well. Having some of Mother Nature’s wonders in...
- 8 Ways to Save on Fuel Who of us does not want to squeeze a bit more distance out of each gallon of gas that we put into our cars?! Here are few things you can do to increase your gas...
- 10 Money-Saving Home Repairs Please Welcome Crystal, a brand new Sweating The Big Stuff staff writer. Crystal currently blogs over at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, where she write about finding the balance between paying your bills, saving for...
- Home Maintenance Given that buying a home is the biggest investment that people make, home maintenance is an important part of owning a home. One hopes that their investment is worth as much as it can be,...
- Link Building Tips - To The Point And Effective Many internet marketers rely on link building to promote their websites and get more targeted visitors. The number and quality of backlinks a site has is one of the main ways that the search engines...
