Need Advice On Providing Coin-op Laundry Machines
Hi all,
I would like to "reward" my tenants in a 2 fam buy purchasing a coin up washer and dryer.
Before I sit down and do the due diligence in how much I should charge them to save them money and cover my expenses, I'd like a general consensus from my veteran landlords!
Thanks!
-Ariel
Conti and Finkel say that coin op is useful for rentals over 6 units generally speaking. On a two unit is there not room in the unit for their own W/D?
[addsig]
There is room, but why should I buy a set for each tenant and not at least cover my water expenses?
I can install them in the basement
and either make a little on the side or at least cover my water. No?
Thanks for the reply!
So what if they buy their own? Aren't you potentially going to pay for the water anyway? Is water abnormally expensive in NJ?
I don't think it's a good idea. I don't think your tenants will view it as a "reward", I think they will view it as you being a greedy landlord.
At an estate auction you can easily get a washer and dryer for $100 or less. If you want to "reward" them spend the $100. If you don't, let them buy their own.
How am I greedy if I save them on the expense and inconvenience of using the laundromat?
I will charge them less than it costs a laundromat but hopefully at least to cover the water bill.
Again, if they buy their own aren't you paying the water bill anyway? Didn't you anticipate them having washing machines when you set the rental amount?
No. Because any item like that has to be cleared with me first as stated in the lease.
I'm assuming they pay all of their own gas/oil and electric? I put in pay machines to save utilities. I got tired of paying for all of the friends and relatives coming over to do the laundry. Water usage for my duplex w/out a lawn was almost twice as high as my home w/ a large lawn. Not just water, but sewer costs are just as much. After that I realized that I liked having only one location where washers could potentially leak. Also, liked not having tenants dragging machines up & down the stairs banging up the walls. (Of course, they never knew how the holes in the walls got there.) Set my prices a quarter below the local laundry mat. Didn't matter a whole lot since the utility savings alone pays for the machines.
I agree with the above poster. The washer and dryer will make nice long term additions to the rental. I would price them much lower than the laundromat and explain that this is just to cover the cost of the water and the price of machine and that your "not looking to make any money". This will set their mind at ease and increase the value of the rental over the long haul. It can also be a selling point for the next tenants.
I guess I'm not sure why ANYONE would price the service below the local laundromat.
Ask ANY tenant if they would pay the same $ if the services were right at hand. I've even had tenants tell me (just last week, in fact) that they would pay MORE for the convenience (of course, they live upstairs).
The convenience factor alone is worth something. Seriously, which would YOU rather do: (a) walk down the hall, toss your clothes in, go back to your apartment and clean house/watch TV/eat dinner/clean your aquarium, etc. while the clothers are being done or
(b) schlep your laundry basket(s) to the car, drive to the nearest place, drag the baskets in, put the laundry in, wait around for an hour or two, blah, blah, blah. Been there...done that...and it was ALWAYS more of a pain 'cause I had a Volkwagen Beetle...have you ever tried to put laundry baskets in the back of a VW Bug?
One more point: You need to remember that you aren't covering the utilities only. You need to replace/repair the equipment. You pay the deductible and repair if the equipment fails or hoses break and there's water damage. Coin operated? What about people breaking into the coin boxes? All that risk falls on your shoulders. Don't you think you deserve to offset that risk a bit with the price you charge?
Well, in my area the competition is rough. I routinely give W/D to tenants in exchange for signing a year lease. The W/D generally cost a could hundred and I secure a lease for a year. So in my situation, sweetening the deal is a must, maybe not in his.
[addsig]
Those are good points.
Again, I guess it's about perception. Especially with good tenants.
Just make sure they are actually going to use it before you make the purchase. I have a coin operated washer and dryer in my 4 plex. Only two of the tenants use them. The ones who do not use them would rather go to the laudrymat where they can do all of their loads at once.
Who would cover maintenance on the machines? My friend runs a coin op laundry and the maintenance is very high because the people don't treat them very well, washing things they never would otherwise.
Also your appliance cost might be higher if your putting them in each unit vs a laudry room where a couple of machines service a large number of tenants.
ANother thought is how often are you going in to collect the coins? What is your states guidelines on landlord access vs the tenants right to enjoyment of his leashold premises without intereferance?
If coin-op was a good thing in the individual unit then everyone would be doing it. Watch the big boys, they know how to run a rental for maximum profit.
Also, if your renting to people that don't have their own W/D what kind of people are you renting to? Who would not be interested in your rental due to the extra expense of the W/D?
[addsig]
There are services that provide and maintain washer and dryers. I don't know if this would work for a duplex but I have such a service for a triplex.
I'm in a related coin-op biz, my customers who provide the service in their blgds. charge the following: the median spent is a average of $2-3.50/week per tennant in apt bldgs. (Dependant on size of family) The median price per load of laundry (in chicago) is $.75/ wash. and $.75/dry in most apts. This is using a commerical grade W/D. (Big Difference from the retail units) The comm'l is rated for 20+lbs & the retail is generaly for 12-16lbs) It's important you secure the units to the floor- they will "hop" around the room if you don't! (Everybody overloads & uneven loads-causes this problems)
Hope this is helpful - Mark :-D