When it’s time to buy a house, you have two major options. You can find a house on the market and hope it meets all your specs. Or you can work with a contractor and build the house you truly want. I’ll be honest, that building a home is a lot more work and stress. Either option will cost you roughly the same amount of money, but one of them saves you a ton of worry. Despite the added stress I decided to have my home built, using a couple of local contractors to do the construction. I have come to find out, some years later, that the HVAC contractor I used was unlicensed, and he might have even used stolen equipment! This man told me that he had a brand new central HVAC system from another customer who had suddenly died and couldn’t pay for the order. The ductwork was secondhand, but all of the main components were new. I have recently learned that all of the components, including the furnace, the air handler, and the main air conditioning unit, were all scavenged from old worksites. The furnace is twelve years old, and the air conditioner is seven years old! I tried to track down this HVAC contractor, but he moved away long ago, which means I have no recourse. I am taking bids and estimates from three other local HVAC contractors, and will probably go with the cheapest offer. A brand new HVAC system costs several thousand dollars, so I need to shop wisely, and choose a contractor I can trust.