Airconditioners

[imonmyway]

I just leased out my first IP apparently the in wall airconditioner unit trips the fuse after 30 minutes of constant use.

Firstly am I required to replace this and assuming i do how long can I take?

I was wondering if it would be better replacing it with a split system type unit thinking that it would add a little more value to the place makeing it look a little more modern. As far as I can tell they cost about $600 to $800 to buy and about $600 to install.

Do you cover the hole in the wall with a board or do you have to get it bricked up?

How do you depreciate a Airconditioner?

 

[LynnH]

imonmyway

Before you think about replacing the a/c, it sounds to me like you need to get a sparky to check out the airconditioner and/or wiring - you wouldn't want to invalidate your insurance if there was a fire at your IP .

Re depreciation: have you had a QS report done? This should have been covered in the report. There are several quantity surveyors on the forum - do a search, and I'm sure one of them will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Cheers
LynnH

 

[softmonkey]

hi imonmyway,

when it comes to a/c dont piss about... hot tenants are grumpy tenants, imagine if it happened to you? when a wall unit a/c carked it i pulled heaven and earth to purchase transport and install a new unit in 2 days. tenants were over the moon ... as they said a PM would have taken weeks to sort it out during the holiday season. they have proved keen to fix the little jobs themselves cos they know i have their back on the important things.

forget the split system idea there's a 1+ month wait for qualified technicians to do the install. and it costs more!

how old is the unit? maybe bite the bullet and buy new - the depreciation life of room a/c is 10 yrs. 5kw wall units are well under $1k. shouldn't cost more than $250 to have one put in when theres an existing hole, any tradie can do it.

a quick sparkie visit before hand wouldnt go astray either, if the wiring hasnt been checked out in a while.

its an opportunity not an obstacle!

 

[Jayro]

Mate if you choose to have it looked at 1st (which I would reccomend) do not waste your time and money to get an electrician out. Its not there job. You need to get an air con company. The electricals etc is all part of there trade. A sparky will come and more than likely tell you to get an a/c guy out.

As for a 5hp wall unit I think you may have your sizes mixed up there softmonkey. You possibly mean 5kw. BIG difference. This is about a (roughly) 1 3/4 - 2hp.

Not sure on the wait to get a unit put in down there. Maybe due to your heat of late. We can throw in the same week at present. Certainly putting in a new RAC (wall unit) will be the cheapest and easiest. If the size of the new unit is physically the same then its a job just for a handyman. Half the price of a sparky or a/c person, no wiring will be involved or anything.

There is plans in place to slowly ban wall units as they are very poor when it comes to efficiency so keep that in mind.

BUT certainly if the units not too old Id have it looked at 1st. could be a cheap fix. If its older than say maybe 6 or 7 yrs then maybe look at throwing a newy in I guess. Just measure the hole and try to get one that fits the same slot.

Jayro

 

[Perp]

As nobody's explicitly said so, yes, you have to attend to it if the tenant took the lease believing there was a working air-con (which I'm presuming they did). As to timing, I doubt there's a specific timeframe specified, but as soon as reasonably practicable I would think. And if it's hot, the sooner the better, as softmonkey rightly pointed out - hot tenants are grumpy tenants!

I would have thought we were past the busiest time of year for installs, so check how quickly it can be done with a few local companies.

I do strongly prefer the split systems as they're much quieter and more aesthetically pleasing, as well as more environmentally friendly, so all-in-all if you have the time/money to put in a split, then do so. But you're not obliged to - if money or time are an obstacle, you can certainly just replace with another wall-mounted unit. And it will be significantly cheaper.

 

[rabbaj]

This is a huge coincidence! I am going through the same thing.

PM called today saying that the AC died, is unrepairable and would cost $900 for a new one. Installation costs another $700-$800. Don't have that kind of cash...PM tells me that I am obligated to replace it - But am I really?? The way I see it an AC is a luxury item, not like a stove or hot water unit. PM thinks that the tenants leased the property because it had an AC so for that reason I am not pulling up my end of the bargain...I am thinking of reducing the rent, but how much of the rent is aportioned to airconditioning???

Any advice??

 

[willair]

Do you cover the hole in the wall with a board or do you have to get it bricked up?

To keep the appearance-value of the property ,then if you rip out the box unit then you would have to Brick the outside then re-set the internal wall,that cost factor alone would be high,a very simple way to fix this problem and it also depends of the age of the unit is check the elec's board and see what fuse the unit is running on,most A-C units don't drop out like that,unless the tenants are running the unit full blast with all the windows open,a good sparky should be able to fix this problem,maybe the unit was not installed properly in the first place..IMHO..willair..

 

[slades]

Rabbaj, It doesn't matter if you think its a neccessity or a luxury, as Ozperp said, if it was part of the deal when the lease was signed, then you are obligated to maintain the facility, or at least get agreement from the tenant for a variation.

I don't think you could get away with just refusing to replace it and just hope they maybe move out, I suspect you are stuck with fulfilling your side of the lease or finish up at the tribunal.

A reduction in the rent might work depending on how much the tenant needs the money and how bad they wanted the aircon. I'd pick a cool day and offer $5/wk reduction but if the aircon was a significant feature to them and its been hot weather then you might need $10+ reduction to keep them happy.

Are you due for any rent reviews, maybe you could incorporate it into that, "the rent is being raised by $10 next month but, we aren't replacing the aircon, so will only raise it by $5", not sure if thats legal, it might work.

I recently installed a dishwasher in a property at tenants request and by coincidence the agents reviewed the rent and upped it by $10/wk so I made sure that the tenants were clear that the rise had nothing to do with the new dishwasher..trust me

 

[oasis1frog]

The problem with box units is there's not too many choices and they look ugly. But if replacing with a split it's a pain to organize to have the hole bricked up.

 

[imonmyway]

thanks for all your replies.

Given the last couple of hot nights in Melbourne and having to sleep in the lounge room of my place near the air-conditioner I can certianly sympethise with them.

This is the first week of my first IP being tennanted im off to a good start. I reckon I got above market rate for the rent. My initial analysis was $230 but i advertised at $270 and had someone move in the day after settlement.

At this stage the PM has arranged for a airconditioning mechanic to take a look, so what i was thinking was if the unit needs replacing and the price difference isnt to much I might just install a split system and disable the current unit maybe cut the power lead and leave it where it is for the moment.

 

[Jayro]

Willair a unit will not "drop out" (trip the c/b) if the thing is getting a hard life. That may cause the compressor to over heat possibly but that wont continually trip the C/B. If its tripping the breaker there is a problem. It either has a burnt out or seized fan motor or compressor, a faulty capacitor, OR (if your lucky) some minor burnt wiring from a loose connection. Either way any issue related to the unit is an a/c technicians job. Not the job for an electrician. Only be a job for the sparky if there was a power supply issue or damage to the power point, main board etc (both of which the a/c could tell you and 9 times out of 10 could fix for you also if nothing major. This is very unlikely as the fault is 99% of the time related to the unit itself.

IF you choose to replace the unit with a unit of the same physical size your PM can have there handyman change it over for a small price. Will only be the labour cost which is genrally 2 people for an hr and its done.

Jayro

 

[softmonkey]

Jayro thanks! you're indeed right I got my units mixed up, have corrected the post.

rabbaj unfortunately you will need to go to the tenants to renegotiate, legally a/c is not something you can take away at will.

imonmyway - if the situation gets inflamed another option is a portable a/c to keep the peace until you can sort things out, it can be handy to have especially if you are working towards multiple properties

 

[caterpillar]

I replaced an old wall unit with a split system last year. Cost around $1000 for the SS and was $660 installed. Also got someone to plaster and repaint the wall. Still under $2K and was able to increase the rent a lot before next tenant went in.