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Updated 3 days ago on . Most recent reply
Turned over unit - Prospective tenants are not happy that the laundry not in the unit
After five years, we removed a tenant (via non-renewal of lease). They moved out and turned over the unit. Since it was never turned over under our ownership, we gutted the bathroom (needed it), redid the cabinets, countertop, and all three bedrooms. It's been on Zillow for about six weeks (most inexpensive in the neighborhood), and the # 1 comment we have is they do not like that the washing machine and dyers are coin-op and that they are in the basement. It's a four unit building, so the most economical way to install the washer and dryer was in the unit. There are also hook-ups in the basement for other tenants to connect theirs if they wish. I was thinking on placing a combo washer/dryer in the kitchen, there is a small space, but we have to run water lines from the basement and a drain hose. We really didn't want to do this, but we are concerned that it's taking a long time to fill. We filled a 1-bedroom in 3 weeks last fall. That was listed at $2k, and this is listed at $2.7k (again, a 3 bedroom). A combo washer/dryer would be around $1400, and a plumber to run the lines probably another $1200 or so. We've already spent around $15k in the reno with supplies (trust when I say the unit needed it.
Any suggestions?
Most Popular Reply
@Mike A. A one bedroom and 3 bedroom are different prospective tenant groups. Laundry coin op is a pain especially for someone needing a 3 bedroom likely with kids. My thought would be the coin op is the turn-off. A combo washer/dryer probably isn't going to do the trick, not for that unit size because of the laundry volume. Is a stacker in unit an option? or a dedicated laundry unit still in the basement might push it over the edge. Is the coin op shared for the building? is switching to a card system an option? If you want to recoup cost not sure how you could measure usage if you add their own machine. I have had a water meter put on my well to monitor water use so I think you could do something similar if you want to charge/monitor use for water. It really is the size of the unit lacking laundry driving your issue.