Laundry: include or not?

[Jim Y.]

Hi BP landlords! I am in the process of purchasing my first multi family unit. It is two 4-plexes. Each unit has full laundry hookup, but the seller did not provide the washer and dryer; that was the tenants' responsibility. To this point, I've only owned SFHs and have provided full laundry, so I do not have a counter reference point. I'm aware that providing laundry would be a value add that would allow charging higher rents, but also that it is a significant upfront expense. My biggest concern with not providing, is not having control to mitigate the risk of tenants' laundry units being loud, old and leaky, plugged with stinky lint, unit damage while moving, etc. Has anyone made the switch from tenant provided to landlord provided laundry in MF units? What was your experience, and would you do it again on a future property? Thanks in advance for the feedback!

[Kurt K.]

I have never included washers & dryers with units that provide hookups. Its another appliance to maintain. Let the renters get their own washers & dryers, but you might want to do an inspection of the washer & dryer hookup once the tenant has it placed. 

And in the lease you can state if a washer & dryer is not hooked up properly after inspection, you will provide a service, but the tenant will pay for.