I have a luxaire which is same as york. I have the 14.5 seer heatpump (the upgraded model not the lower model). It has a decibal of 69 cooling and 71 heating. It has a compressor jacket. It works great. No problems. Don't be scared of the name. The installer is what really matters. They need to do it right. Ask if they can get luxaire cheaper. Its the same equipment. Price may be a little high. It does include air handler so it won't be super cheap. And your getting some sheet metal done too. Thats not free. Spend more and get a heat pump since your in seattle.

I think installing a condenser in your attic would be a big mistake. It will perform poorly, noisy, and difficult to service. Do any of the other townhouses have an outdoor condenser? Where is it located? A condenser can be installed above ground attached to the side of the building with a bracket. This is very typical for townhouses that have no adjoining land. You would install it at a height that you can walk under it, but not too high so it would be difficult to service. I would think a 1 or 1.5 size unit for your house in the Bay area would be sufficient. You need a load calculation to determine the proper size. It is difficult to say how much it will cost given it is a new installation in a more difficult set up. Stay away from the big box stores. Get estimates from independent dealers. You can save a little money when the temperatures are mild and rebates are offered.

I have ben in the cleaning industri for more then 20 + years. Centralvacs are the best at keeping dust levels indoors to a minimum due to no air being blown out of some tyoe of vacuum, sitck, upright, cordless, canister. When some talk about cordless vacuum and how much they love them and they only use them I get horrified. The are NO cordless vacuum that can replace a corded one totaly, they are fine for inbetween cleanings but not as your only vac. Carpet need strong suction and a powernozzle driven by an electric motor not an airdriven one that might be fine if you only have a few area rugs. Bagless vers baged is a great debate also. Baged you just take it out and put a new in, done. Bagless needs alot more maintnens of filters to keep it running at full suction and even then as on can se on youtube baglesscleaners clog up with dirt. But it alls comes to how much do you want to spend on your vacuum, time when useing it, do you have allergies, do you have any fysical limitaitions. A cordless cleaner can be your only cleaner if the are only hardwood or no carpet then you dont need that much power to get it clean. Just my thoughts, good luck

"I have three estimates - all companies with great reviews on Yelp & Google." Unfortunately, homeowner reviews of HVAC system are very limited and I would take them with "a pinch of salt". The vast majority of homeowners are just not equipped to critique such an installation. If the installation gets completed and the system heats/cools, the homeowner is happy. Lord know how the installation went, if corners were cut during installation, etc, etc. If the system is oversized (which they usually are), most homeowners are more than happy that the house "heats up"/"cools down" quickly. Rarely do these reviews have any meaningful information on the quality of the installation or if this contributed to the long term performance, reliability or otherwise of the system. I guess they filter out the real bottom feeders who can't even get the system up and running, but that's about all.