The air conditioner conked out in one of our vacation rentals and we called in for service. First AC repair man went through a very lengthy explanation about how the compressor was shot, unit was so old that it was not worth repairing and the replacement – the only option – would be $6000.

We had already relocated visitors to a nearby unit. We new that the unit was older, however, we did not expect that the entire unit needed replacement. It would be easiest just to have a brand new unit installed and be done with it. However, we decided to be sure that it really needed replacement. Would love, yet hate for a repairman to come in and say “Oh see here – it’s this little wire that came loose and that’s $100!”

We talked with a local property manager who oversees around 150 vacation rental units. He said to check with his AC man and get a second opinion on our vacation condo. After a few minutes looking over the unit the 2nd repairman said that it was still a viable air conditioner and that it really just needs a new fan motor. While it is an older unit – he would be able to find the part and it would cost around $200.00 total.

Here we are a year later and the air conditioning at this vacation rental works great. I asked Joel why the other “highly advertised” AC company could give such a different diagnosis and he replied: “They just don’t like to mess with repairs – they really like to do replacements – more money.”

At that moment – I felt for all the little old ladies in the area that probably have heard the same bull from some of these AC companies – “No Ma’am – nothing we can do you need a brand new AC!”

As with medical care – the same applies to appliance repairs for your rental homes – Get a second opinion and maybe a third. It saved us nearly $5800! Don’t forget to replace your air filters often!