Air Conditioning Listings Across Metro Vancouver

Air Conditioning on a Greater Vancouver listing can mean a ducted system, a heat pump, a ductless mini-split or a window unit the seller will take with them, so confirm which before you write an offer.

Verify What Air Conditioning the Listing Actually Includes

The MLS® field is a checkbox, not a description. Ask the listing agent for the make, the age and the service records of whatever is installed, and ask specifically whether it stays with the home. A ducted system tied to the furnace cools the whole house evenly, while a single ductless head cools one room and leaves the upper floor warm. In a concrete tower a heat pump often shares the building's central loop, which means the strata controls the changeover date and you may have heat in September whether you want it or not. Have your inspector run the system in the season it is meant to work.

Check the Strata Bylaws Before You Plan an Installation

If the unit you want has no cooling, find out what you are allowed to add before you remove subjects. Many Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond stratas prohibit window units outright on appearance and safety grounds, and a ductless condenser needs an exterior wall or balcony position the strata has to approve in writing. Request the bylaws and any alteration agreement template during your subject period, and ask the strata council whether other owners have been approved for the same work. In a detached home in Surrey or Langley the constraint is electrical instead, so check the panel capacity and the age of the service before you price a system.

Budget for Air Conditioning You Would Have to Add

Get a written quote rather than a rule of thumb. A ductless head in one bedroom, a multi-zone system across a townhome and a full ducted retrofit in an older house sit at very different costs, and the older the home the more likely a retrofit means opening walls and rerouting a bathroom vent. Ask about provincial and utility rebates on a heat pump, which cools in summer and heats in winter and is usually the better purchase in this climate. Then factor the running cost into your monthly budget alongside the mortgage and the strata fee.