PTAC For Investment Condo?

I've had something similar in apartments. It's not noisy, but the whole complex has to switch between a/c and heat at the same time. That can be a nuisance if management is rigid about the switching date.

In one apartment, they broke down every winter and the repairs were expensive. Since it was a hot water heating system, sometimes the apartment line had to be drained before repairs could be done.

jelj13,
Did you live in these apartments or did you have tenants in them? Do you remember the brand of the PTACs and if they were 2-line or 4-line systems? And how were the utility bills? My worry is that a potentially exorbitant electricity bill will deter prospective tenants.

There're lots of different configurations.

-- Self-contained heat and A/C. Cheapest to install, tenant pays for both heat and A/C, so pricey for them.

--Heat via 2-line steam or hot-water piping to building system. Electric A/C paid by tenant. Tenant pays to run blower.

-- Both heat and A/C via 2-line cooled or heated water from building. Spring and fall switchover. Tenant pays to run blower.

-- Separate 2-line feeds from building for heat and A/C, so can heat one room and cool another. Tenant pays to run blower. Most flexible, but high first cost limits it to high-end buildings.

We lived in these apartments. I don't remember the brands or the number of lines.

In one building, we were responsible for all the repair costs. In another, the building paid for the cost of all repairs for the ORIGINAL units. If you replaced the unit, you took on the responsibility.

The utility bills were only high in the summer just as with any a/c. (At first our bills tripled in the summer . We discovered the nanny was turning on all the units in all the rooms at maximum cool. That stopped after we showed her the electric bill.) Since both apartments faced south, bills were not as bad in the cooler months.

I guess your lease would have to cover repairs and the cost of heat. I should add that owners did not have problems attracting and keeping tenants over the heating/cooling. Also, the new PTACs are supposed to be more energy efficient.

Hi again,

Thanks for the responses.

I THINK the units that will be installed are Friedrich PDH07K3SF (according to the offering plan -- I could go down to the site and take a picture of them). Does anyone know about the reliability or longevity of these units? NWT, do you know which configuration this type of PTAC is? Seems to me that it's all electric. jelj13, during your stays with these buildings, did you, or any of the other residents, have problems with insulation, leaking, the PTACs breaking down, weird smells, etc?

That falls into the self-contained category. They're designed for motel rooms and spaces like that. The developer doesn't have to engineer a heating system or run pipes. The PTAC goes into a hole in the wall and plugs into a 240 outlet. They're less than $800 apiece, so no big deal replacing them when they're shot.

Understood. That's what I thought.
What do you think of this type of unit/configuration for an investment property? My worry is that the monthly utility costs to the tenants/renters will be discouragingly high. At the same time, are they less prone to creating major problems for the building? (ie, water leakage which would damage exterior walls, etc.). When you mention that they are more for hotel/motel rooms, I worry about their long-term use in a residence.
Primer, care to weigh in?