We were able to afford a house situated right along the lake because it had been left vacant for quite a few years.
The previous owners had started and failed to finish several improvement projects.
One of the bathrooms was completely torn out. The kitchen was missing a floor. Some of the windows were boarded up. Every appliance was extremely outdated. The plumbing was corroded and leaking. My husband and I are especially handy and like tackling big projects. We were very relieved the electrical system was up to code and the heating/cooling system proved functional. The house is equipped with a packaged unit that is situated outside and provides both heating and cooling capability. It sends the conditioned air through ductwork that runs inside the attic and delivers comfort by way of supply and return vents cut into the ceilings. The unit is enormous and unattractive. It’s rusted and very noisy. It frequently startles me when it starts up. We expected to need to replace it within the year. We’ve now lived in the house for nearly five years and the system continues to operate. It easily handles the extreme summer heat and humidity. It struggles a bit in the winter. Fortunately, the temperature in our local area rarely drops below 40 degrees. On the coldest nights, the system sometimes freezes over. We’ve purchased a portable electric heater to supplement. We’ve only had one problem with the unit so far. I noticed warm air coming from the vents when it was set to cooling mode. I called for repairs, fully expecting to replace the whole system. The technician found a small refrigerant leak. He told us the system is too old to find replacement parts. He refilled and recharged the refrigerant and said to hope for the best. So far, that solution is holding up just fine.