Posts Tagged ‘heating cooling indianapolis’

Indianapolis Rental Property HVAC Specialists

December 13, 2010  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

With the real estate bubble bursting over the last few years, rental properties have surged.  First, these former owners can no longer get a mortgage.  Secondly, these former owner occupied homes no longer have owners.  This combo means more homes are empty and more people need homes.

As you might imagine, these places aren’t always taken care of well.  In fact, many are looted for anything of value before they’re left unoccupied.  And certainly get stripped of anything of value if they’ve been forclosed on.  Hence, many of these places require extensive rehab, heating and air conditioning included.  While Indianapolis make not have taken as big of a hit on real estate as other parts of the country, investment properties and rentals are continuing to grow here.

One of our focus areas within residential heating and air conditioning is investment properties.  First, we understand this market because we are real estate investors ourselves.  We know that price is the main driver, but it must be coupled with a contractor who will be accountable to a specific timeline and be trustworthy enough to be given access to the home.  Secondly, we know that part of the value add an investor is looking for is someone to take care of the headaches for them.  We do that by asking the right questions up front to know are pertinent details before entering the home.  Imagine a headache free process at a price competitive with contractors you might find on Craig’s List.  It’s possible.

Tags :heating cooling indianapolis, indianapolis hvac, investment property hvac, rental properties indianapolis

Heating Service Call in Carmel, Indiana

December 9, 2010  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

Heating & air conditioning isn’t a mushy business.  For the most part (in the case of our competitors) it functions largely as a commodity.  You don’t get to know the guy that fixes your furnace in the same way you might your family doctor or hairdresser.  So, there’s nothing more gratifying than hearing that we’re different.

As the Homesense Thermostat at PaulPoteet.com shows, it’s cold outside.  And, as you  might guess, cold weather makes our phone ring more.  When we received a call from a lady in Carmel recently, we could tell very quickly she was frustrated.  She had looked in the Yellow Pages and called a company in the area with a big advertisement that gives equally sized expectations for homeowners.  After spending awhile on hold, she was quickly pushed to a sales rep who scheduled an appointment.  Rather than sending out a technician, the salesman did a quick assessment and told her she needed her system replaced.

Thankfully for her, she had a friend who had recently used Homesense, and she called for a second opinion.  Our second opinion was that not only did she not need her system replaced, she needed only to replace a circuit board which saved her thousands.  Times are tough for everyone, so it’s rewarding for us to do business the right way and give a great payoff for our customer.  Sure we didn’t make alot of money on that job, but we believe that a lifelong customer has a far greater payoff.

Tags :carmel indiana, furnace repair, furnace service, heating cooling indianapolis

How To Select a Heating | Cooling Company

November 17, 2010  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

Becoming a smart shopper for technical services is a skill you develop over a lifetime. If you’re not lucky enough to already “know a guy”, what’s the process you go through? While many people are paying for membership into services like Angie’s List, there are still plenty of people that venture into the world of Google searches and Yellow Page listings without knowing the first thing about what questions to ask.

So, assuming if you’re here, you already think Homesense is pretty great.  But, let’s say you don’t know how extraordinary our technicians are, how reasonable our pricing is, and how much our customer service exceeds expectations.  I would recommend you ask these questions:

- What’s the name of the technician that is coming out to fix my problem?  How many years has he been in the HVAC industry?

(Many larger companies have technicians fresh off getting their EPA certification, which is not the same as being a quality technician.  Someone without experience will perform a diagnostic like someone without experience.  These young techs specialize in trying to upsell systems that don’t need fixed.)

- What is your hourly rate, and how long does a service call generally take?

(You should expect anywhere from $70 – $125 for an hourly rate.  Knowing a general expectation of time will put the pressure on the technician to give you answers more efficiently.)

- Before you perform any work to fix my system, will you provide a written estimate?  Is that estimate good for a certain amount of time?

(This is a big problem in any technical industry.  The technician uses terms you don’t understand to pull a solution seemingly out of thin air, to produce a quote that seems equally arbitrary.  Then has the audacity to tell you it’s only good while he’s on site.  As a homeowner I wouldn’t expect it, so Homesense won’t do that.  Our quotes are good for 30 days.)

If you know who, how much, and how long the estimate is good for, your expectations should be appropriate for what quality of experience you’ll have.  Be wary of any company that doesn’t happily provide this information.

Tags :best prices in indianapolis, heating cooling indianapolis, hvac, tips for choosing company

Investors – Be A Smart Contractor Shopper

April 8, 2010  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

At Homesense Heating | Cooling we want to be the go-to contractor for residential real estate investors. After a few months behind us, we can say that our combination of quality work and fair price has given us some great partners in this area. But, there’s always room to improve. So we reached out to some local experts to find out what investors are looking for.

We asked, if you are flipping a home or renting it out, or advising someone in this process what are you looking for in a contractor, and how should you interact once you find a good contractor? Here’s what they’ve had to say:

“As far as contractors go it is important to treat them like kings. I say this because once you’ve find two(2), not 1 that you like it is important to keep them busy. In return they will (hopefully) put you at the top of priority lists and start cutting you more deals on prices which in turn helps your profits. It’s the small things like people skills and loyalty that can help turn profits in this business.”

- Mark Forcum, is a realtor with Prudential Indiana Realty Group specializing in making amazing investments in real esate. Find out more about real estate investment in Indiana on his facebook fan page.

Next, we spoke to an experienced investor. He shared a variety of advice for potential investors, including:

- Your HVAC system is one of the most important investments you make with your investment property, consider having a licensed contractor do an HVAC Condition Report in advance of making the purchase.

- Once you had tenants, make it mandatory that they make for biannual maintenance on the heating and cooling system. And have accountability in place to make sure they actually do it.

- Expect availability from your contractors. Issues have a way of happening at inopportune times, so your contractors need to be available on nights and weekends. If they are not, then I’ll go to the next name on the list.

- Make sure your gutters and downspouts get regularly cleaned. Nothing can damage a property more quickly than water damage caused by failure to do this regular and easy maintenance.

- Bob Kort is best known in Indianapolis as the owner of Kort Builders. Other businesses in the Kort empire include Midwest Wireless and Commerical Awning Contractors. As Bob has grown different businesses, he has invested in real estate for rental, to flip, and to hold.

Any more ideas to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at trusthomesense@gmail.com

Tags :heating cooling indianapolis, hvac, Investment Properties, Shopping for Contractor

All You Ever Wanted To Know About Tax Credits

March 22, 2010  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

Home Heating & Cooling Equipment

What are the incentives for home heating & cooling equipment?
Please note that these incentives have changed as of February 17, 2009. If you installed home envelope components between January 1 and February 16, 2009.

Purchasers of highly efficient heating, cooling, and water heating equipment can take tax credits of 30% of installed cost for purchasing qualifying equipment, as detailed below. These credits are available for systems placed in service from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010. There is a $1,500 cap on the credit per home, including the amount received for insulation, windows, air and duct sealing.

What types of equipment qualify?

- High-efficiency gas, oil, and propane furnaces and boilers
- High-efficiency central air conditioning units, including air-source heat pumps
- NEW – Ground-source or geothermal heat pumps
- High-efficiency fans for heating and cooling systems
- High-efficiency water heaters, including heat pump water heaters

What are the efficiency requirements to qualify for the credits?
- Manufacturers and retailers should be able to help you tell whether a specific product qualifies.

The qualification specifications are:

- Furnaces and Boilers: Natural gas & propane furnaces must meet an Annual Fuel Use Efficiency (AFUE) 95 or higher, oil furnaces and gas, oil and propane boilers must meet an AFUE of 90 or better.

- Central Air Conditioning Units: Central air conditioning units and air-source heat pumps must meet the highest tier standards set by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) as of Janurary 1, 2009, which in most cases requires a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of 16. SEER measures performance throughout the cooling season. More information on the CEE specification.

- Biomass Stoves: Stoves must have a thermal efficiency of 75% as measured using a lower heating value, and be used to heat a dwelling unit or heat water for use in the same. The law defines biomass fuel as anything from agricultural crops, trees, wood wastes & residues to pellets, plants, grasses and fibers.
While the new tax credit takes effect immediately, the Internal Revenue Service has not issued the guidelines for determining which stoves meet the efficiency requirements to qualify for the credit or how a manufacturer will qualify their products. These guidelines are expected by the later part of May 2009, however the credit applies to all qualifying stoves sold in 2009. Once the IRS guidelines are issued, wood and pellet stove manufacturers will test their stoves and will notify their retailers regarding which models qualify.

- Fans for heating and cooling systems: fan uses no more than 2% of total heating system energy use, as defined by DOE test procedure. For more information, see the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute web site . It is still unclear how the 2009 Stimulus legislation has impacted this incentive – it seems reasonable to assume that the cost basis will be the reasonable cost of the fan, not the entire furnace. IRS has yet to issue specific guidance on this issue.

- Water Heaters: Gas or propane water heaters—Energy Factor of at least 0.82, or a thermal efficiency of at least 90%. Heat pump water heaters—Energy Factor of at least 2.0

Where must the equipment be used?

Under guidance issued by the IRS, equipment is eligible if installed in a home occupied by a taxpayer as their principal residence at the time the equipment is installed. This implies that equipment in new homes is generally not eligible since in new homes equipment is generally installed prior to occupancy. However, efficient equipment in new homes can help that home qualify for the new home tax credit.

What do I need to do to qualify for the incentives?
Under the IRS rules, manufacturers need to certify that specific measures are eligible. Homeowners should obtain a copy of this certification when buying these products from the manufacturer, contractor or retailer. Certifications need not be submitted to the IRS, but should be kept on file in case the IRS has questions. Homeowners should also make notes on when each eligible measure is installed- only measures “placed in service” in 2009 or 2010 are eligible.

Click here to access IRS guidance on qualifying energy-efficient property.
I don’t think I qualify for the incentive – where can I find information on state-level incentives?

To apply for the incentive, use IRS form 5695. Please note that this version of the form is for 2008, and so does not include line items for the incentives discussed on this page. There will be a section for these incentives on the 2009 iteration of the form which will likely be available in late 2009 or early 2010.

All information from energytaxincentives.org

Tags :equipment tax credits, heating cooling indianapolis, hvac tax credits