Whether or not to provide appliances for your tenants is one of those issues that owners usually decide early on in their investment career. Did you make the right choice for yourself?
I have operated buildings both ways and after many years, I have come up with practices that I think work well.
STOVES
While many prospective tenants may own a refrigerator, it is less likely that they will own a stove. From a liability perspective, it can be a risky choice to allow a tenant to bring a potentially dangerous item into your building. Gas and electric stoves can create a potential hazard that could do major damage to people and property if there is a mishap. I have always provided stoves for my tenants. It allows me to regulate the type, age, and condition at move-in. Using the same or similar units, allows me to save money when purchasing new ones as well. For me, there is no question about stoves. If a tenant asks to bring their own stove, I will almost always decline.
REFRIGERATORS
I went through a long period where I did not provide refrigerators for tenants. I felt that I was not able to charge additional rent, yet I was required to maintain the appliance I had provided. The state of California does not require that you provide refrigerators, but it may be worthwhile. Damaged appliances can leak into another unit. There is also another consideration, which increases with multi-level buildings. During the move-in, dropping a refrigerator down the stairs could do major damage to people and their property as well as to your building. You could easily wind up in court and potentially on the hook for damages. In my opinion, especially in upstairs units I choose to provide refrigerators.
WASHERS AND DRYERS
Many small apartment buildings have laundry rooms so this won’t apply, but I have had cases where each unit can accommodate a washer and dryer. Having laundry hookups in their unit is usually a great selling point for potential renters. I have several clients with larger buildings who actually supply stackable washers and dryers. They have been able to command higher rents than other similar units in their area. They also do a beautiful remodeling job on their units. so that is a contributing factor. The advantage to the owner here, is that you can pick the type of appliance that will be in your apartment. By making your units attractive and maintaining them, you can cut down on turnover.
Ultimately, each owner, through trial and error, decides what works best. Sometimes a combination of offering appliances for some units and not others may be the best choice.
What we at PRS PROPERTIES CAN DO. We can discuss with you the current rents in your area and supply you with comparable rental prices for similar properties. Before you hire a manager, make sure the compensation is fair to you! We can also look at your building for changes that might allow you to get a higher value in order to create value without huge expenses for your building. We can help you to get the maximum value for your property, should you decide to sell, or the maximum return if you are planning to keep your building.
We always have many investors who are looking for “as-is” properties and are willing to purchase with low rents, a moratorium, or even with a problem tenant in place. We have put together numerous transactions over the years which involve properties that are not listed for sale. Many investors are in 1031 exchanges and need to identify a replacement property before their 45-day identification period runs out.
Should you decide to put your property on the market, we will put together an aggressive, targeted, and professional campaign to get your property sold fast. We have been doing this for over 40 years, and we will use all the tools available to bring you the most dollars at closing. If you are thinking of selling or are just curious about the value of your property, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
Remember – KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
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