Rent with or without washer and dryer

[Vincent Gizzi]

I am going to be a first time landlord. We currently reside in the home that is our to be rental. We plan on purchasing a new washer and dryer for our new residence.

The current washer and dryer are old and probably aren’t going to last very long. Is it better to rent with a washer and dryer? Would it be a good plan to tell the renter (and place in the rental agreement) that we intend to keep the washer and dryer until they break, but if they do break the renter is responsible for supplying their own washer and dryer? Or should we just scrap the washer and dryer and rent without them?

I don’t want to do wrong by the tenants and I’d hate to get rid of working appliances, but I also don’t know if I can afford buying 2 sets of appliances in a short appointment of time.

[Anthony Wick]

@Vincent Gizzi

Great question. I think it depends on the type of unit, and what the competition is doing.

We own duplexes, and supply washers and dryers. I was tired of fixing them, so tried no washer and dryer supplied. It didn’t go well. Just about everybody that did a tour was quite surprised no washer and dryer.

We decided, at our rent rates, to keep supplying them. We buy used from a local place that gives 60 day guarantees on their appliances. About $350 for the set. Most of them have been lasting 3+ years before any repairs are needed. Sometimes, it’s cheaper to buy another used model than fix the old one.

Now, a couple things we do though is; we ask applicants if they have their own. Some have a better set than we supply. And we put in all leases that this is not a guarantee. If they break, we might not fix them. It kind of depends on if the tenant keeps abusing and breaking our appliances.