Provide Washer/Dryer for Unit or Stick to Hook-Ups?

Question

Hello all,

I have a duplex that, as of the time of purchase a few months ago, had only washer/dryer hookups for each unit. I was wondering what your experiences have been with this: do you typically find better tenants and/or higher rents if you provide a washer/dryer instead of just the hookups? Is it worth the headache of having to repair/replace them from time to time?

Thanks,

Caleb

Collin Garbarino · Answer

You should check to see what's typical in your market. You probably don't want to be the outlier.

Here in the Houston area, it's not typical to provide W/D, and it's not even typical to provide a refrigerator in a SFR. I was kind of surprised when I realized I wouldn't have to provide a fridge, but that's the way we do it down here.

I got a good piece of advice from David Krulac on the forums that I'll pass on to you. He said, "My theory is that the more heavy things the tenant brings the longer they stay because they don't want to move all that heavy stuff again." I loved that perspective.

Marc Winter · Answer

There are a few ways to go on this one.

In our leases, appliances (w/d) included in the rental, are for the convenience of the tenant only, and if they need repair, it's the tenant's responsibility.  If they have their own appliances, we will remove existing into storage.

The other MAJOR issue is who pays for water/sewer?  If it's the owner, not the tenant, be sure to figure much higher water bill into the rent equation.  Personal experience--we've seen neighbors and tenant's friends driving up and bringing their laundry to wash at the 'free' laundry we were supplying to the tenant!

Be sure to get a base-line read of what water/sewer is without the w/d, and possibly put surcharge for overage from tenant's wash days.

We've used coin-op machines in the past, however depending on if you are renting A or C properties, there could be serious damage if tenants abuse the machines.  They ain't cheap to buy or repair.

Good luck.

Curtis Bidwell · Answer

I only provide machines in limited circumstances because as a general rule I don’t want to mess with them.  (One of our apartments has 24 units and I have 3 sets). I generally pay $300-350 per set and charge $45/Mo.  They pay off in 7-8 months.  The next 4 months covers my water/sewer and when they stay longer I make money.  Also it increases the total income and thereby increases the value.

Fred Heller · Answer

Regarding the new vs used appliance question, I bought three used refrigerators from a scratch/dent place in one year for about $250 each plus delivery. All three of them went out within the year. The warranty covered labor but not parts.

Because of that, I've lost any warm feelings about used appliances. You can get a nice new apartment-style refrigerator from Sears for $550-ish. And you won't have to worry about them going out on you.

Dan H. · Answer

I think when you are starting out you may have time to deal with finding used items and any associated repairs (and tenants will over load the machine).  However, as you scale or have significant cash flow it the following happens: 1) you realize that there are better returns for your time 2) that the savings is often not that great because often you are buying a problem 3) dealing with repairs is a hassle and has a financial cost so even if the used machine resulted in some savings was it worth it?

If you have spare time I do believe that you can save money with used washing machines but it will not be as great as the difference between the cost of new versus the cost of old.  Tenants ae rough on machines and if they are common area machines you cannot even blame someone for the trash bag that clogged the exit drain or the overloading that was significant enough to bend the shaft.

We recently have moved all new rental washing machine purchases to Speed Queen and so far they have lived up to their reputation (not one service call yet) but I will have a more long term view in 5 or 10 years from now.  For now I recommend them.

Dan Shelhamer · Answer

I am going through the same question myself right now.  Most of my homes have come with a washer/dryer.

However, I recently just added the hookups in one of my units on a duplex and I am going to leave it as just hookups and see if the tenant I choose has a washer/dryer themselves.  If I have a very qualified prospective tenant who insists they have to have a washer/dryer in order to rent the unit, then I will buy a washer/dryer to put in that one.

I think just having the hookups is a great way to separate yourself from the competition, and then see what kind of tenant pool you get.

Another question I have relating to this:

Do you buy used washer/dryer (cheaper but potentially more maintenance issues) or brand new (more expensive but less maintenance and possible warranty)?

Collin Garbarino · Answer

The same thing happened to me. I ended up donating the W/D to Harvey victims who were just getting back into their home.

Fred Heller · Answer

It really depends on the market and what your competition is offering. Here in Houston, it is not common for the landlord to provide the actual washer and dryer. The potential tenants typically don't expect one, and they frequently have their own they want to move into the property.We just closed on a couple of properties and, in both cases, the sellers left the washer and dryer behind. I'm still trying to figure out what to do about those.

Dan H. · Answer

If you provide washers/dryers and want reliable, long lasting washers/dryers that may not be the quietest or use the least amount of water but are built to last the choice is Speed Queen.  Their price is a little higher but built to last.  In rentals or commercial that is quite important.  For your home use, you can better regulate the size of loads, etc. so the need for a Speed Queen is less.  I do not have Speed Queen for our house; We have LG at home.  Tenants will over load the machines as they are not stuck with the repair bills.  Plastic bags clog most commercial machines' drains but Speed Queen seems to have less draining issues than the other commercial washers that we have used.  Our Speed Queen washers are newer than our other washers but so far they have 0 issues.

Dryers have less issues but I still suggest Speed Queen.  Read the reviews about the quality of the Speed Queen components.

I have no association with Speed Queen other than being a consumer for our units' small Laundromats.  As our washers and dryers die they are being replaced with Speed Queen (replacing one this week that we wish we replaced earlier as the machine needed servicing I believe 4 times in the last year).

I admit at $1.50/load it will take a while to pay for the new washer but it is a real convenience factor for the tenants.

Good luck

Rob D. · Answer

I would prefer to install as few appliances as I have to.  I have one rental with a W/D and I replaced them twice already and fixed  twice.  Truthfully imo it’s not worth it.  I may do coin op next time as they are more heavy duty but I would prefer to get rid of them altogether.

For the few bucks a month more you can get i rather discount the rent and have more applicants to choose from and one less appliance to maintain repair or replace

Provide Washer/Dryer for Unit or Stick to Hook-Ups?

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