All Forum Posts by: Martin K.

@Jonathan Klemm Feel free to reach out to me anytime, the best number to reach me at is 312-535-0056

Most appliances , and electronics in general are pretty simple to understand. Fundamentally it's the same as a circuit with a light bulb in it. The appliances just have more components in those circuits. That being said, everything ends up being simple if you dedicate enough time to studying it. There are a lot great videos out there on basic circuit design and that will take you 90% of diagnosing appliance related issues

I don't know how home automation will play out in the future. The big gains to be had have mostly been captured already, and they were geared towards automating HVAC systems in commercial buildings and large scale residential towers. Lowering expenses and increasing efficiency is great, but you need scale to see significant improvements to a bottom line.

There is an interesting development occurring with the current chip shortages we have, as well as the price increases in commodities. A lot of basic / builder's grade appliances are priced extremely cheaply. But, they tend to have a major component, typically a circuit board or motor fail within the first 2 years; and on those models the replacements parts are sometimes astronomically priced relative the purchase price of the appliance.

I've seen a pretty large uptick in the cost of basic appliances, in recent years and also in the quality of the materials and components. There's also a trend amongst some manufactures using older technologies like timer's instead of circuit boards and heavier duty less efficient motors with the caveat that those components last longer and are cheaper to manufacture. 

Increasing efficiency at the cost of more expensive less reliable parts in domestic appliances don't make much sense in my opinion; given that we're talking about small amounts of water and energy savings for something that won't be used very much. On the commercial end, it's a different story.

@Jonathan Klemm

@Jonathan Klemm Hey, thanks for the heads up! yes, I'll format our logo and contact information below. We cover the city Chicago as well Northwest and Northern Suburbs, but if someone's in a pinch I can usually find a way to get a tech or my self out to the Western and Southern Suburbs as well.

We service all appliances the only caveat being microwaves; Microwave parts tend to be pretty expensive and are very labor intensive to fix because it typically involves dismounting the microwave from the wall and dissembling them is very time consuming. We do however fix basic things on microwaves like turn table motors, handles, etc and those things we can typically price out and quote over the phone saving people a call out and diagnostics fee.

@John Warren I don't have any actual data or long term statistics to share but, I can share my opinion on what would be better for the type of housing you're dealing with. I am guessing this is affordable housing around the Chicagoland area?

Stick with super basic electric ovens, avoid the glass top models. The tenants will do something that results in the glass breaking and that's not a cheap repair. The older style electric ovens with the exposed stovetop heating elements are your best bet. They are durable and able to take abuse from tenants that aren't interested in taking care of them. Otherwise, if the discussion is long term reliability on gas vs electric, gas wins out every time.

I don't know if that's legal in Chicago, but I've heard of other landlords doing this as well. I guess it depends on the market. I mean... if you're renting out a place in a nicer neighborhood and collecting above market rents then I think the tenants expect certain niceties like in unit Washer/Dryer, or at the very least in the building on the premises. 

Sorry for the late reply here;

Wendy, ya I'd avoid Samsung appliances at all costs, especially their refrigerators, and their washing machines. But you're better off avoiding them in general. LG on the other hand does make decent washers/dryers, the rest of their appliances are pretty bad, esp. their fridges and ovens.

As a landlord you should avoid LG/Samsung appliances in general however, because technicians will charge you more to fix them, and it's difficult to get parts on hand. To a lesser extent, that applies to General Electric as well. If you're chasing the luxury rental market, and want to put in nicer looking appliances, go for Bosch or Miele; there are other high end brands as well but those 2 are solid with parts easily available, long warranty periods and great build quality.

For washers/dryers specifically, if you are not installing coin operated laundry in a common area then stick with the following; either buy Whirlpool Washing machines, preferably front loaded washers as they are a much better build quality vs the top load washers, or get a "laundry center" unit from Electrolux/Frigidaire. Those are the units that have a dryer on top and a washer on the bottom in one enclosure. Avoid all other laundry centers unless you're buying commercial units.

On the other hand, for common areas, but a Speed Queen... they're expensive, but you'll make the money back , a $3000 washer/dryer should pay for its self in about a year or two depending on use frequency. Those machines will last 10+ years without a major breakdown happening.

Hey guys, I have a few rental properties and own an appliance repair company. I had a personal profile on here a while back and this site was very helpful when I was looking to learn and I got great advice and resources from the forums.

I'd be happy to provide suggestions to landlords regarding general property maintenance, and specifically offer help for anyone that has had issues with their appliances. I would highly recommend people look into purchasing an aftermarket warranty or protection plan from a good company, especially if you're buying a property, or even a building that's older. It's probably best to buy it for the first year, as most issues with your appliances will popup in the first 2-3 months.

Apart from that, feel free to ask my any appliance repair or appliance install question you may have, I'm not looking to make money off of you and I'd be happy to provide advice on this forum thread and possibly link you to some youtube video's or other resources I've gathered over the years.

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $104,000
Cash invested: $15,000

Purchased in 2018 after a fire had damaged the building 2 years earlier; due to lack of capital was only able to purchase one unit, and am always on the lookout for situations similar to what had occurred with this building.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The area is nice and was relatively cheap at the time, I was aware that people were looking to move into this part of the metro area and was aware that there were significant tail winds that would propel demand for rental properties in the area.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I live in the area and noticed that there were units available for sale after a large fire had damaged the propety.

How did you finance this deal?

Standard mortgage from a bank.

How did you add value to the deal?

Small amount of rehab was done, and no one was interested in bidding on these buildings due to an elevated HOA which lasted for the first few years due to the increase in insurance.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Find ways to raise capital, actively network and be ready to talk to people. When situations arise where you can pay in cash you will find great deals.