Can You Sell Your House With a Broken Boiler In Colorado?

Worker fixing home boiler

The modern household can barely function without a boiler. They constitute a huge chunk of our heating bill because they provide hot water and heat in our houses when it is cold.

A combi boiler breakdown can easily paralyze the entire house’s heating system. It is a key consideration for homebuyers, making a house with a broken boiler a tough sell, especially if you don’t have the time or resources to service or repair it. If you have no time, a Denver home buying company will still buy your house as-is if you live in the area.

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So, Can You Sell a House with a Broken Boiler?

The straightforward answer is yes. You can sell your house with a broken boiler. There is no legal requirement for a working heating system before you can sell the property.

However, you can still face legal problems selling the house without a functioning boiler if you make the wrong move.

There are also many benefits to handling the boiler problem or installing a new boiler that might be worth considering before listing the house.

To optimize the sale while keeping it within the law, you need to know the potential pitfalls to plan around them.

This article highlights what you need to know about how the broken boiler will affect your sale. We will compare approaches using different scenarios so that you can identify the best way to proceed, given your circumstances.

boiler breakdown
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Effects of Selling Your House With a Broken Boiler

Your Pool of Prospective Buyers Will Be Limited

Most prospective buyers will appreciate a boiler in working order, especially if it is brand new or has been serviced recently. 

It means the house is move-in ready, and they will not stay without hot water or incur costs to service or fix it.

The dysfunctional central heating also makes buyers skeptical; they will start wondering if the house has any other hidden problems they are unaware of. 

Your average cash home buyer will not make an offer if the heating system is not working. You should be honest from the beginning and negotiate a discount with your buyer so that they have funds leftover for fixing the boiler.

Some buyers who might be willing to buy the property despite the broken boiler will not be able to make their offers because their financiers don’t finance houses without working heating systems as a policy. 

Sometimes, it will be a requirement for home insurance, or the insurance company insures the debt.

There are many other admirable qualities besides the heating system you can use to sell your house for cash. You should be willing to make concessions, though.

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It Lowers Your Selling Price

Many buyers still willing to make an offer will ask for a discount to bear the cold and the cost of fixing the heating system. While you are not obliged to agree to their terms, you will have to make some concessions.

If the competing houses have central heating, you might even have to lower the price to give your listing an edge.

This effect is more pronounced in a buyer’s market where your prospective buyers have many options to choose from. In a seller’s market, more people will be willing to buy the house as is and handle the boiler issue on their own because houses are scarce.

Your Listing Can Stay in the Market Longer

Your offers will be few and far between, especially if you are targeting regular buyers so that you can realize the house’s full market value. 

They will be avoiding your listing because they are looking for a house they can move into immediately after the sale closes without considering repairs.

Who Will Buy a House With a Broken Boiler?

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Buyers Who Have No Alternative

Some buyers will jump at the opportunity to buy a house with shortcomings because it gives them bargaining leverage and is in a tight corner. 

Examples are people who had to move from other cities and are yet to find a new home and those with limited resources who can’t afford anything else and are looking to make a deal.

Investors and Cash Buyers

The absence of a working boiler can be good news for homebuyers who plan to execute a complete makeover of the house.

Cash buyers and investors might view the absence of a heating system as an opportunity because it gives them more leverage to negotiate the price downwards. 

You will be subjected to a lot of bargaining and crazy offers. They make up for it by giving quick cash offers because they have the liberty to make decisions on the spot, unlike lending institutions.

They are often more interested in how much they can make from flipping the property or leasing it out after some renovations. 

They will be more concerned about the house’s location and comparable property in the neighborhood.

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boiler room - gas heating system

Is the Boiler Part of the Home Inspection?

The boiler is not technically part of the home inspection. However, the inspector is free to ask about the boiler’s condition and when it was last serviced. They will recommend a review by a boiler expert if service is due.

If you plan to list the house, the best time to have it serviced is before the listing. You will go into the transaction with a current assessment of the boiler and the heating system as a whole.

You will be aware of any outstanding repairs, if certain boiler parts are worn out and how much it will cost to restore. The recent inspection certificate makes the house more attractive to a potential buyer.

Can You Still Sell Your House If the Boiler Is Condemned?

What happens when a registered engineer inspects the boiler and labels it ‘immediately dangerous’ or ‘at risk?’ This means it poses a health or safety risk. 

The boiler will be disconnected and should not be used until their concerns are addressed, even if it is still working. In this state, the boiler is said to be condemned.

There is no law barring the sale of the house if the boiler has been condemned, so you can still sell your house fast for cash

However, there is a requirement that you must disclose the status of the boiler to your prospective buyer before the agreement is signed.

It will most likely trigger a significant drop in their offer price because they will factor in the cost of replacing or repairing the boiler themselves. 

A condemned boiler will have a marking or a stamp designating it as condemned and explaining why it has been condemned.

Full Disclosure

The law mandates you to provide specific information about the contents of the house, its structural features and their current condition to the buyer before executing the sale and purchase agreement.

The point is to ensure they are fully aware of any dangers, weak spots, shortcomings or flaws the house may have before they commit to buying it.

Although the underlying concept is similar, each US state has its own unique codes directing what should be disclosed and how it should be done.

You can find yours in this compilation of state disclosure laws for reference. The disclosure can be done in a statement or by filling out a standard template form.

Failure to disclose a broken boiler or faulty heating system may expose you to lawsuits filed by the buyer as soon as the inconvenience starts.

Seller disclosure forms can be challenging to fill because the questions will be largely generic. It leaves you wondering how much information you should give or whether you should even mention the boiler issue.

You may get away with not mentioning the boiler if it doesn’t come up, but considering it could cause the buyer to change their mind about the purchase, it’s better if they are aware of it.

Is Replacing a Boiler Before Listing the House Worth It?

As much as you are not legally bound to do it, new boilers contribute significantly to the house’s appraisal and market value, which enables you to get better offers for the listing. It makes economic sense when the value added surpasses the cost incurred to install the new boiler.

The cost of the new boiler depends on the size of your house, which determines the optimal capacity and the type of boiler

A conventional or standard boiler is the most affordable and most likely compatible with the old radiator system. You can also opt for a contemporary combi boiler that is ecofriendly and uses energy efficiently.

Replacing the Boiler

Old boilers are not as efficient as their contemporary counterparts. Modern boilers employ the latest technology and are custom built for the ever-changing climate; they are even designed differently.

Consequently, a new replacement boiler might not fit where the old boiler was. You might have to change the radiator as well and redo the plumbing. 

This involves ripping up the floor to get a good look and will require planning permission. It is an extra cost on top of the boiler price.

Staging the ideal home will make the house stand out in the market. While the buyer will appreciate it, there is a limit to how much you can price the house above the going market rate. 

Sometimes it is better to let the buyer fix the heating problems, especially if the restoration cost is higher than the anticipated value addition.

Can I sell my house fast for cash?

WeBuyHousesInDenver.org is your solution to selling your house, with or without heating, because as the number 1 Denver home buying company we will buy any house in any condition so if you want a cash offer on your property, simply give us a call or fill out an online form and our team of experts will get to work, quick smart, to help you get your house SOLD!

USEFUL RESOURCE: Can you sell a house without a stove?

 

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Your solution to selling a house with a broken boiler

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