Author Topic: Question about appliances in rentals  (Read 1224 times)

jeromedawg

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Question about appliances in rentals
« on: June 28, 2020, 04:28:16 PM »
So currently in my condo (owned), the current fridge is still functional but seems to be slowly dying as we have had to turn the thermostat up on it gradually in the past year or so. I have a new basic top-freezer refrigerator on order to replace it (scheduled for delivery on July 8th but it has been back ordered for a while now so who knows). I got a pretty decent price on it (it definitely costs more than now than the price I locked in at) and it matches most of our other appliances. Since we will eventually need a new fridge, I figured it wouldn't hurt to just get a matching one so when the time comes to sell the place, hopefully it'll make the kitchen a little more appealing.

Plans to move have sort of 'accelerated' though and there's a possibility we may move in the next couple months and rent for a year in the area we intend to be. In this case, we would likely rent the current place out for at least a year (possibly two max) before selling the place. I was wondering if you guys think I should keep the order for the new fridge and swap the old one out or if I shouldn't even bother if we plan to rent this place out.
I was curious about the same thing with the washer and dryer too and if we ought to plan to move those out and into wherever we rent (unless there's a W/D already provided).

I had initially preferred to rent a place out in the new area that already had a W/D and fridge for use just for the sake of ease and not having to transport the W/D and potentially a fridge around, but am now wondering about this as, from reading around, it seems like if anything happens to any of those items (even if the renter causes the damage), it's my loss and the renters are responsible for purchasing new units that are their own.

Just wanted to see what would make the most sense, especially with the new fridge on order. I'd either cancel the order or possibly delay it to a future date and change the address of delivery to the new place (again, assuming the new place isn't furnished with one already) and just leave our existing fridge in-place as-is for renters to use.

Thoughts?

SunnyDays

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2020, 03:57:28 PM »
I would stick with getting the new one.  You'll have enough on your plate getting settled into your new home without having to deal with a dead fridge from miles away.  It's not a huge expense and it's one less thing for you to have to think about.

former player

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2020, 04:23:22 PM »
Take a look at the local rental listings for properties similar to yours: if they include appliances you should too. I think you are in a high housing cost area?  The value of any appliances you leave will probably be less than a month's rent.

SunnyDays hit the nail on the head: if you are renting out from a distance you need to make managing it as painless as possible: buy the new fridge.  Having to deal with a dead fridge from a distance would eat up the cost of the fridge and more just in the time and hassle of replacing it quickly with a tenant in situ.

Dicey

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2020, 06:18:32 AM »
Having a W/D and Ref. makes your rental appealing to a wider pool of tenants, and typically command a higher price.  If you buy the appliances after the property becomes a rental, you should be able to write them off as business expenses, so consider the timing carefully.

Before you replace the appliances, read up on your models, and watch a few YT videos. If the problems you're experiencing are well known and fixable, it might be worth buying parts and doing some DIY repairs.

YttriumNitrate

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2020, 06:48:21 AM »
Assuming that the fridge that is on order really is a "new basic top-freezer refrigerator" I would keep the order in place and swap out the dying fridge. Now, if you're spending more than ~$1,000 on the fridge, I'd suggest changing the order to something more appropriate for a rental.

jeromedawg

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2020, 09:55:41 PM »
Assuming that the fridge that is on order really is a "new basic top-freezer refrigerator" I would keep the order in place and swap out the dying fridge. Now, if you're spending more than ~$1,000 on the fridge, I'd suggest changing the order to something more appropriate for a rental.

Thanks all. We are planning to not rent any longer and will likely sell the place after moving out when we find a place to lease.

That said, do you think I should still wait for the fridge to be delivered after we've moved out? For the sake of showing a 'complete' kitchen? Or is it not worth the $800~ that I paid? I can still cancel the order and get my money back if it makes sense.

cchrissyy

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2020, 10:54:43 AM »
Quote
That said, do you think I should still wait for the fridge to be delivered after we've moved out? For the sake of showing a 'complete' kitchen?

i think you should wait but for a different reason - so that the new fridge is a rental expense not something present in the house before the day it became a rental.

i don't think you'll have any trouble showing tenants a kitchen with an empty space and promising that a new fridge will be there by move in day.

you should buy the nolo press book on landlording to get a deeper understanding of how the expenses work, as well as taxes, depreciation, etc.

jeromedawg

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2020, 11:24:25 AM »
Quote
That said, do you think I should still wait for the fridge to be delivered after we've moved out? For the sake of showing a 'complete' kitchen?

i think you should wait but for a different reason - so that the new fridge is a rental expense not something present in the house before the day it became a rental.

i don't think you'll have any trouble showing tenants a kitchen with an empty space and promising that a new fridge will be there by move in day.

you should buy the nolo press book on landlording to get a deeper understanding of how the expenses work, as well as taxes, depreciation, etc.

Thanks. At this point we have decided not to rent our place out and are just intending to sell. I'm still debating whether or not to have the new fridge delivered for the sake of making for a better home showing. However, it has been on backorder with an big unknown as to the delivery date. So I may just cancel the order all together. And if we need to get a fridge in place to help with the sale, I'll just look for a deal I guess.

Goldielocks

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #8 on: July 05, 2020, 12:39:13 PM »
Cancel it and buy a very nice looking 2nd hand fridge for around $500.  Something that will run well for an inspection, and look classy, help sell the home.   

Or no fridge.

jeromedawg

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #9 on: July 05, 2020, 03:25:59 PM »
Cancel it and buy a very nice looking 2nd hand fridge for around $500.  Something that will run well for an inspection, and look classy, help sell the home.   

Or no fridge.

We may not bother doing anything - we had three realtors come in and all three said that the fridge is inconsequential in this current market. Whether we have a junky one, a nice one, or nothing at all, they all felt that buyers would come in with their own ideas regardless (since our place is pretty entry level with few minor upgrade) and the place will sell quickly anyway.   

Wrenchturner

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Re: Question about appliances in rentals
« Reply #10 on: July 05, 2020, 06:24:24 PM »
You might have a thermistor/thermostat issue that is easily repaired.