Washer & Dryer or not?

[Kel S]

Those of you with rental houses, do you put in a W/D? Or do you just list them as washer and dryer hookups? I remember way back when I rented I didn't have my own washer or dryer. Do tenants these days bring their own? Or should we buy a set (used probably) and provide those? Would having them make it more rentable or appealing to prospective tenants?

Part of me doesn't want to provide them because that would be more maintenance should they break. Then the other part is wondering do tenants tote W/D to each place they rent?

[Steve Babiak]

Many good ideas have already been presented; I'll voice opinions on a few of them.

Jon Klaus syas charge them extra rent for the extra equipment. MikeOH and NC Mark say don't include any extra equipment. NC Mark added that he would be including washer/drier in his latest, with a lease clause saying that he's not responsible for maintaining them. These are all viable practices, and they all make sense. You need to pick which one of these is most appropriate for the rental clientele that will be occupying the premises (and on what the competition in that rental market offers). I don't think you can charge extra rent and then have a lease clause that says you aren't responsible for maintaining the extras; but I have heard of this even being done by some landlords in the Phila area.

I like to include the ceiling fans that are the low-end Lowes or Home Depot store brand models; they can be bought for like $19.99 or $29.99. Not much difference between that price and a light fixture without the fan, but the tenants seem to like getting the fans. Just be aware that when they move out, that the top of the fan blades will need to be THOROUGHLY cleaned (in most cases).

Now if you include ANY appliance, whether it be DW, fridge, W/D: have a lease addendum that covers these. Itemize the make, model, serial number, color, etc so that upon move out you keep what you started with. Learned that from somebody who lost new appliances that were exchanged for second hand junk.