2009 rental rates

Depending on the age of your a/c you may want to have it serviced or replaced. That's only one solution. If there is demand for your unit you may want to consider it. Just remember to keep loyal renters in mind and offer them this years rates if they book now, this is common practice in the rental community. Keep in mind if you raise your rates too high you may scare away prospective renters and either lose money or just break even.

If you use a rental company make sure you discuss it with them as well. They may advise against it or advise you to only raise them slightly. Oh and since I'm rambling, you don't have to raise across the board, some people only raise certain peak times. ;-)

Thanks for your input. I think we will have to replace the AC unit soon as it is 9 years old. We had a repairman out this week; he added a lot of Freon and said it might last this season.

I'm doing more research to see where we stand compared to similar houses but I agree with your logic about raising rates.

Yeah, an a/c unit in this environment is pretty much dead at 9 years. I have seen exceptions to the rule including a unit at Palms of Seagrove that had an original a/c unit still functioning in it. Most a/c companies now offer an extended warranty on new installs. It adds anywhere from $300-$700 depending on the size of the unit, but it is soooo worth it. It covers the unit for 10 years for anything. So if it dies on July 4th weekend you don't pay for anything, that's a huge savings and it will pay for the extended warranty on one late night service call.

Just replaced my original a/c - it lasted about10.5 years. It wasn't totally gone but to do a partial fix and then possibly have to replace it anyway in a few months wasn't worth it.