Laundry washing machine, to replace or not?

[Brianna Tardi]

Hi BP!!! The motor is out in our rental washing machine, to save us the back and forth we are leaning towards replacing the entire unit but in the mean time do leave it up to our tenant to figure out how to wash her clothes, do we reimburse her for money spent at laundry mat? Help! We are at stepping stone and our first encounter like this and do not know what’s reasonable. TIA

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Brianna Tardi:

Hi BP!!! The motor is out in our rental washing machine, to save us the back and forth we are leaning towards replacing the entire unit but in the mean time do leave it up to our tenant to figure out how to wash her clothes, do we reimburse her for money spent at laundry mat? Help! We are at stepping stone and our first encounter like this and do not know what’s reasonable. TIA

There are differing opinions on this. 

My thought: who reimburses you when your washing machine dies? Nobody. It's not your fault that the appliance broke, so you shouldn't feel guilty about it or worry that your tenant may have to go a few days without a washing machine. If she procrastinated on laundry and absolutely must wash clothes today, that's not your fault, either.

Others will tell you to give them a sock full of quarters and a baggy full of soap, put them up in a hotel for the week, offer a month of free rent, send them an "I'm so sorry for your loss!" card with chocolates, or maybe offer to switch houses until the laundry is fixed. Those are exaggerations, but so is the loss of a washing machine for a few days or a week.

Long story short, tell them you're sorry for the inconvenience and replace the machine as soon as time permits.