Real Estate Investing News has an article on how to prevent Air Conditioner theft by building a rebar metal cage around it: “How to build a cage for your Air Conditioner (A/C) to prevent stealing for $90 or less. An A/C condensor on a Houston, Texas foreclosure I bought had been stolen long before I bought it. The idea of putting a brand-new 13 SEER unit into a neighborhood known for A/C theft was not attractive. I am told that the scrap metal dealers are doing thumbprint, photograph and 3 day waiting period now before paying for copper. The A/C cage will consist of 3 bars north/south and 3 bars east/west. See picture. This should provide more than adequate room to work on the unit and have un-restricted air-flow. The goal is to make the cage so the unit cannot be removed from the cage without destroying it…”
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After having three (3 !!!) units stolen from rentals we had to try something. I have a friend that is using cages but we’ve started plastering our units with air conditioner alarm stickers and wiring into the alarms when available (only about half of them). So far, so good.
I wish the thieves would get prosecuted far harder for this type of theft. The worst part of all is
that this is usually just for the scrap copper. They’re taking a $1,500 unit and gutting them for maybe $50 worth of copper. It’s nuts!