How much income from coin operated laundry machines

[Anish Patel]

Hey BP Community.  Looking for some input.  I have 16 units on one block in a downtown market.  None of my units have washer or dryers so they all go to laundromats close by.  I am wondering what I could expect to bring in monthly on coin op machines.  One of the units has a small commercial in the front that just got vacated and I can use that space to put easily 5 washers and 5 dryers.  I am hoping people will share following info below.  I am looking also to purchase the machines and not go with a lease and split option.  How many machines do you think are adequate for 16 units?

Number of Units

Number of Washers and Dryers

Estimated Income per month 

Thanks BP Community

Anish

[Michael Tempel]

2 to 4 max.  Have 6 properties and typically put in 2 machines for every 6 units, but do just fine with two machines on a 23 unit.   

I encourage a leased deal simply because you will get the best product and maintenance.   We 100% collect on our own and pay a fee for machines.   Every building I look at for sale at a discount owns and the machines look like it.   See it as advertising/revenue.   You will rent to great residents if your equipment is up to date or progressive from the competition.   

[Anish Patel]

Thanks @Michael Tempel good info.  When you say 2 for every 6 do you mean two sets or just one washer and dryer.  Do you have any recommendations for a leasing company and or can you guesstimate a ball park number on how much you can collect for a 6 unit or a 10 unit in laundry income

Thanks

[Nik S.]

@Anish Patel 

For a 23 unit multi-family of mine, it's roughly $200-$250.

My cost for the water (high sewer rate) & electric is around $50, so my net is roughly $150-$200.

It's a great amenity for tenants, I charge $1.75 per wash & $1.75 for dryer, I own the machines.

I did have a recent incident where someone accessed the coin box and removed all the money! My fellow BP's and I came up with a great solution to keep my money safe! If your interested to see, let me know.

I also recommend getting the machines with the Credit Card as opposed to Coins. OR the get the processor that accepts the laundry cards...

I purchased my commercial washer and dryer for approximately $800 a piece.

A lot of people ask if my building facilitate a laundry room on site.

[Nik S.]

@Anish Patel 

Also I use to have my PM collect my money for that property however since the incident, I am now going to collect the money once a month. I bet the amount will be higher...then again who knows but at least I can cut out ANY discrepencies!

[Anish Patel]

yes @Nik S. I am curious to see your solution for keeping the money safe.  Also how many washers and dryers do you have for the 23 unts?

[Michael Tempel]

Originally posted by @Anish Patel:

Thanks @Michael Tempel good info.  When you say 2 for every 6 do you mean two sets or just one washer and dryer.  Do you have any recommendations for a leasing company and or can you guesstimate a ball park number on how much you can collect for a 6 unit or a 10 unit in laundry income

Thanks

It depends on a lot of factors as noted above.   I do try to get top quality machines, front loaders if possible to cut down on water usage and charge a higher rate.    I am at around 2.75 a load and have an option for a super cycle at .50 more.   You have to make sure there isn't a laundry mat next door, but usually I find they charge higher rates, but something to pay attention to.   

I got a past post removed for mentioning laundry leasing companies.    I would just check with your multi family associations.   If they are good companies you will find them there.   

[Nik S.]

@Anish Patel 

I only have 2 units total. I haven't had any complaints with tenants saying they can never wash because someone else is....

I started this thread not to long back, but page (4) is my pictures of the solution. Read thru the whole thread if you have a few minutes, a lot of great suggestions!! Let me know what you think!

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/162077-thieveshow-to-stop-them?page=4

[Ward Conville]

I have a 58 unit complex.  About half the units have W&D.  We have a laundry room with 5 washer and 3 dryers.  They gross an average of $450/month.  Utilities eat up about 1/2 of this.  These are older models and are not efficient.

[Nazz Wang]

Would you consider setting up a laundry mat business at the commercial unit? They are pretty passive as far as I have heard and it will take care of your tenants too.

[Wade Sikkink]

We have a 14  unit building with a laundry in the basement.  2 washers and 2 dryers.  We were charging $1 per load but upped it to $2 a couple months ago.  We were grossing between $100-$200 per month before upping the rate.  No idea on the water or electric expense since the laundry room is not separately metered.  We spent about $1100 this year on repairs to the machines, though.  People are hard on them and always overload them.  I'm figuring on budgeting $250 per year per machine for repairs.

Overall this year the laundry made about $1000 net.

[Eric Bowlin]

For us...the income on the laundry was not the issue..but the savings on water.

In my city..water/sewer costs around 25/unit/month depending on family size. So..3 units (standard size here) is around 225-275/quarter. Water is very expensive!

Also, in this area..almost every building...even every apartment..has a washer/dryer hookup.

I tested in one building to remove all washer/dryer hookups and provide 1 coinop washer and 1 free dryer in the basement. I earned about 250 for the year but saved around 400 on water. I Realized that tenants will do laundry with just 1 or 2 items when it's free..but do large loads when they pay.

[Andrew Whicker]

As a tenant I wouldn't pay as much in rent if I had to use a coin op washer / dryer though...

Do you charge the same rent for less amenties?

@Eric Bowlin 

[Richard Haiber]

Originally posted by @Andrew Whicker:

As a tenant I wouldn't pay as much in rent if I had to use a coin op washer / dryer though...

Do you charge the same rent for less amenties?

@Eric Bowlin 

But even if laundry was $4 per wash/dry cycle, the average person will only have to do one full wash per week. That's $16 per month. And you have the convenience of not having to go anywhere.

If the place DIDN'T have laundry, you'd have to find a Laundromat and pay for it there. On top of that you have the added inconvenience of needing transportation (another cost) just to get there and it ends up taking more of your time up just to get a shirt washed.

So I still think that even with tenants having to pay to do laundry per load, it's still an added convenience that should increase how attractive your property is to tenants. And as others have said, the electric/water supplying the machines as well as the maintenance isn't free for the owner. It needs to be paid for somehow.

The obvious, best option would be washers and dryers in every unit (free to the tenant), but then you see how much that costs the building owner and rents would have to be significantly higher with this scenario. Plus many older buildings are not the best set-up to add machines in, so it could be expensive to retrofit. A coin-operated set of washers/dryers makes the most sense and rent should still be higher than a building without any laundry.

[Richard Haiber]

And to answer the question being asked in the original post, the overall income usually won't be much, especially if you have a contract with a company that's taking care of the machines and taking a cut of the money. Even if you own the machines you're still going to have to spend money maintaining the machines. Then either way your utilities will easily eat up money.

I would say when I evaluate a property I never look at laundry as being an actual source of income. It'd be a terrible idea to buy a property thinking you're cashflow will be coming from a couple washers and dryers. I generally view it as nothing more than an amenity that can help attract and retain tenants. The best thing I can relate having laundry to is like having a pool or a fitness center on the property.

I think washers/dryers provide an indirect amount of income in the form of attracting better tenants more so than how many quarters you will pull out of the box every month.

[Ken Barrett]

I own 3 Laundromats and as I have mentioned in other posts you should charge the equivalent to a local Laundromat or more. 

Make enough money to cover the machines, utilities, regular cleaning and maintenance and the tenants will pay the extra to not have to go somewhere else. Your utilities should be below 25% of your income.

My Laundromats have the highest prices in the markets I am in. The cheapest washers I have are $2 and going up next week but our water rates are cheap. These machines are also being used 5-6 times per day.

Depending on the size of the space, the competition and the demographics you may consider installing a public use Laundromat and get the most out of the space.

PM me and we can discuss all that's involved. As I am also a dealer I can provide whatever information and equipment you need.

Ken 

[Eric Bowlin]

@Andrew Whicker I doubt the 7 bucks a month will really affect your decision. I have had difference in tenants or vacancies... Save on water.. And get a few extra dollars here and there. The fact that I have on site laundry is huge for the tenants.

[Andrew Whicker]

I wasn't thinking of financial cost, but time and effort.  Your experience shows otherwise, so who am I to argue?

Glad it works.

[Igor S.]

@Anish Patel I have one set of machines in each 6-unit apartment building.  One building generates around $200/mo while the other $100/mo.

For your 16 unit, I would say two sets of machines would be adequate.

[Peter MacKercher]

We have a 100 unit complex. Each unit has washer and dryer hookups. If the tenant wants washer and dryers we provide them for $50 a month. If they have there own washer and dryer they can move them in and and we can move ours out. 

[John Horner]

@Nik S. and @Igor S., I know this is an old post, and thanks for your feedback.  I was wondering if you could mention how many bedrooms are in your units for comparison sake.  I imagine more bedrooms more laundry.  I am trying to calculate income potential of putting 4 washers and dryers in a 24 unit complex.

Thanks!

[Igor S.]

@John Horner each 6 unit has 11 bedrooms (5 two beds ans 1 one bed).

[Nik S.]

@John Horner

Hi John, my 24 unit brings roughly $150-$200 max monthly. We're at $1.50 per wash & $1.50 per dry. 

[Nik S.]

@John Horner it's more of an amenity for your property than an income.. sure it's cash flow but finding tenants is easier with onsite laundry.