If you are getting a Pocatello rental home ready for your first tenants, or even if you’ve been renting for a while, you might wonder if you should include appliances in your rental property. This is a difficult question for the reason that there is no clear yes or no answer to it. Preferably, deciding to include appliances in your rental home must rely on your location, your target renter, and the feasibility of doing so. By observing these things and weighing the benefits and drawbacks of putting appliances in your rental, you can quickly decide if this is ideal for you.
Consider the Competition
When deciding whether or not to include appliances in your rental home, it’s vital to understand how your rental property compares to others in your neighborhood. If all of the comparable rental properties in your location include appliances and yours doesn’t, this would place you at a clear disadvantage. This is particularly the case if those properties are renting at your desired rate. On the flip side, if other rentals in your area do not offer appliances, there is much less reason to do so. By exploring your local rental market, you can determine more easily whether appliances make sense for your rental home.
Consider Tenant Appeal
While rental property owners are not obliged by law to include appliances in their rental homes, there are numerous good reasons to do so anyway. Probably the most significant reason to place appliances in your rental is to create stronger appeal for your target renters. For instance, assume that your rental is located in a college town, adjacent to an urban center, or a popular retirement spot. In this scenario, the number of young adults or retirees looking to rent in your area is possibly high.
For college students, young professionals, and often retired adults, providing appliances in a rental might be not only required but necessary. Young adult renters are far less likely to own or to be able to own appliances and so often need a rental home that includes them. Older adults may be trying to downsize after retirement and don’t want the hassle of appliance ownership and maintenance. Either way, by including appliances in your rental homes, you can better appeal to these renter demographics.
Consider the Benefits
Aside from tenant appeal, there are other factors why including appliances in your rental property might be reasonable for you. For example, rental property owners who offer appliances can often request a higher rent compared to those who don’t. In addition to recoup the cost of the appliances over the long term, after the payment is made on these appliances, that extra rent will continue to give your cash flows a nice boost.
Another big benefit of including appliances in your rental home is that it critically reduces the chance of wall and floor damage during move-in and move-out. Transferring large appliances in and out of a rental home is hard, unless skilled professionals do it, it poses the risk of causing damage to floors, walls, and even doors and trim. By keeping the appliances in position, you can stop this possible damage and make the move-in and move-out process much faster for both you and your tenant.
Potential Drawbacks
Obviously, including appliances is not ideal for everyone. Some landlords don’t want the responsibility of maintenance and repair for appliances, which in some cases makes sense. For some, the cost of buying appliances may be prohibitive. This is particularly the case if you are having cash flow issues or your budget is tight. In some cases, providing high-quality appliances to tenants is actually not practical, so the best solution is to let tenants have their own.
While it’s obvious that the decision to provide appliances in your rental home or not depends on many things, it is definitely at your discretion to make the right decision for your properties. Most of the time, it can be helpful to have an expert Pocatello property manager on your side to help you make decisions like these. If you want more advice and guidance on making your rental property as profitable as it can be, give Real Property Management Pocatello a call! Our specialists can help you set up a rental house that tenants will love while working to keep your monthly expenses as low as possible.
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