Replace old furnace before selling house?

 We have an old (1988) induced-draft gas furnace that we've had trouble
with on- and off- in our house (we bought the house June 2008).  Most
recently, we had to replace the ventilation fan motor (no central AC
while that was out).  Many of the components have been replaced.  The
AC unit outside is about 12 years old.

We're trying to decide whether or not to replace the furnace.  We'll
live in the house for perhaps two more years.  Putting aside the issue
of an economic analysis of limping along with occasional repairs (and
the associated inconvenience) vs the expense of getting a new furnace,
what are the pros and cons in terms of selling the house in the
future?

One guy who came to give us an estimate on a new furnace said that the
furnace won't sell the house, the house will sell the house.  OTOH,
our buyers agent for this house said that there's a good chance
prospective buyers would ask us to replace it before they took
ownership, so we might as well replace it now.

 
Its a selling point for sure. Its really up to you and
your finances.

I switched from oil to gas.
I got 70K BTU furnace, 2.5 ton 11 SEER air, water heater, and gas line
for $5500. Cost of components, about half that.

greg

 [...]

That's good advice.


And maybe they won't. Anyway, just because they ask, doesn't mean you have to
do it. Negotiate.


Doesn't sound to me like you're looking for advice. Rather, this sounds to me
like you've made up your mind that you want to do that, and you're looking  
for someone to validate the decision you've already made.

 On Jul 19, 10:41 am, spamb...@milmac.com (Doug Miller) wrote:

No, not really.  Just in terms of economics, it might not make sense
to replace the furnace, if for sake of argument we put aside the issue
of inconvenience when the old one breaks down suddenly.  Even in terms
of selling the house, it doesn't make sense, insofar as basic
economics shows that in most cases you'll get less than 100% of your
investment (because people have different preferences).

However, I also don't want to deal with some PITA negotiation over a
furnace if we're trying to sell the house.  So I was wondering how big
an impact it would have on buyers and subsequent negotiations.  I've
never sold a house, and only bought one once.

In terms of the final decision, I could go either way.

 
There are good buys for home insurance that will mostly cover repairs
to homebuyers, and is a good deal for their piece of mind. At
least they know they don't have to replace anything right away.

greg