Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA and D.C. with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.
This is not my usual post.
Inspired by two events this week which lead me to realize I think many people need to learn this skill so they don’t get ripped off.
Event 1: My HVAC stopped producing cold air. The coil froze up and leaked into the pan. It happens — joys of home ownership. My usual HVAC company showed up to replace it. Except they didn’t bring a Carrier part, as requested, and I looked at the part and saw the serial number read 2021. It’s 2024. So I made them take it out and get lost — and will never use them again. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have gotten a 3 year old part that’s been sitting in a box for that long?! No thank you.
Event 2: Clients did a home inspection on a property that advertised a 2023 water heater. The water heater was actually manufactured in 2017, possibly installed in 2023 (I like to believe people are truthful), so might have been the same lame situation.
So let me give you this advice…
Trust, but verify. Look at what someone is installing before you accept it and sign off. Shout to Vienna based Air Treatment Company for showing up the next day with a genuine Carrier part manufactured in February 2024.
Here’s how you can protect yourself:
1. Many of the new appliances have a manufactured date on it. Read it.
2. Look up the serial number. There are generally 3 types of serial numbers, and usually the 3rd and 4th number represent the year it was manufactured (ex. “5224…” would read as 2024, where the first 2 digits can be either the month or week of the year). There’s a great website that helps — www.appliance411.com/parts/tagsearch.cgi.
Don’t just accept them at their word. Ask for the registration cards to capture warranty info.
Also, don’t forget in Fairfax County any gas appliance requires a permit: water heater, gas cooktop, gas range, gas HVAC. Make sure you get copies of the permit application and final permit.
