A well maintained boiler can last 30 years. My advice would be to have an HVAC contractor you trust do a thorough inspection. If the house had no heat it is possible a freezing may have caused a pipe to crack. You can't be sure until everything is tested.

The hot water heater should be replaced.

Baseboard hot water heating is the most comfortable and quietest heating system. I would not give it up unless you were going to install duct work for central AC.

make your offer ... on the presumption of total replacement ...

should we presume as a foreclosure ... you do not get to have a pre-closing inspection by a third party ????

ken

In some neighborhoods, a boiler at 30 is young. It would seem like a pressure test of the system would be prudent in addition to looking over everything else. Is there an oil tank on the property?

The picture shows the boiler to be gas fired. The fact that it uses gas was the reason I advised it should be inspected and possibly repaired.

We now will be having an inspection (previously the house was As-Is only) however yesterday they officially accepted my offer on the property and are allowing for an inspection before closing, etc. I will definitely have someone take a look at it.

The house already has central AC so the ductwork is there. The unit is in the attic, however, and all the AC enters the rooms through the ceilings.

It was a foreclosure hence the "no disclosure" from the previous occupants.

There is no large tank anywhere, Ionized.

I would kill for hot water heat in my house. Properly maintained, a hot water system is silent, constant, and efficient. I would do everything in my power to repair the system you have (up to and including replacing the boiler) before I would install a forced-air furnace.

If your boiler is on the old side (and not very efficient), since you need to replace the hot water heater anyway, look into a new boiler that also makes domestic hot water.