Fun with houses! NOT.
When I went out to the house over the Fourth of July weekend, I was met with a rather nasty set of surprises:
- Both of my back doors had been left unlocked,
- The air conditioning unit was not working, and
- The pond looked like nuclear pea soup (neither pond pump was working).
The pond was expected. Technically, I came into town to partially empty the pond water and fix the pumps. By the end of the weekend, I had done just that and things were going along pretty well. (Thanks especially to the suggestion from my stepmom to use hastas in mesh pots of pebbles as natural filters instead of buying an expensive chemical filter.) The fishes were most happy.
The AC unit and the back doors were a complete surprise. It is a very good thing that I live in a good neighborhood. Otherwise, who knows what might have been missing form the house? I had a long talk with my agent. She said she would contact the last person to show the house and let them know about the back doors and the unit.
The AC unit was probably the most frustrating. Everything was working during my last visit. I had left the thermostat turned to off. It was May: no heat or air should have been necessary. When I came back, the thermostat was on Cool and the fan was set to On. The interior unit of the heat pump was frozen up. The outside fan and compressor kick in but no air comes in through the vents. Nothing I tried nor any of the suggestions of my stepfather or pretty knowledgeable friends helped.
I had to come home and try to deal with the situation from North Carolina. My agent met the AC repair guy at my house today. He said that the variable speed fan motor appears to be not working in the inside unit (one in the attic). The fan motor costs about $800-1200. (YIKES) That doesn’t include installation. The guy was really good though. He checked the serial number with Rheem and found out that the warranty is good until November. Warranty covers parts and not labor. BIG savings, though.
I called a Rheem dealer in Knoxville. They are going to meet up with my agent and give me an estimate. I’m glad to know about the warranty though. That’s good news.
I am thankful to my friends who have helped me find repair people and calmed me down when I was panicked/frustrated. Trying to deal with the house would have been a nightmare.
Having friends and a really good agent is awesome. =)