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Should You Include Appliances in Your Minnetonka Rental Home?

Minnetonka Couple Doing LaundryIf you are setting up a Minnetonka rental home for your first tenants, or even if you’ve been renting for a while, you may be curious if you must include appliances in your rental property. It’s a critical question since there is no clear yes or no answer to it. Alternatively, deciding to include appliances in your rental home must be determined by your location, your target renter, and the feasibility of doing so. By considering certain factors and understanding the benefits and drawbacks of putting appliances in your rental, you can more quickly decide if this is reasonable for you.

Consider the Competition

When deciding whether or not to include appliances in your rental home, it’s necessary to determine how your rental property compares to others around your vicinity. If comparable rental properties nearby all include appliances and yours doesn’t, you would be at an evident disadvantage. This is especially true if those properties are renting at your desired rate. On the other hand, if some rentals in your area do not include appliances, there is much less reason to do so. By discovering your local rental market, you can more confidently decide on whether appliances make sense for your rental home.

Consider Tenant Appeal

While rental property owners are not required by law to include appliances in their rental homes, there are a couple of great reasons to do so anyway. Maybe the most valid reason to incorporate appliances in your rental is to make a stronger appeal for your target renters. For example, assume your rental is in a college town, adjacent to an urban center, or a popular retirement spot. In that case, there are probably high numbers of young adults or retirees looking to rent in your area.

For college students, young professionals, and often retired adults, having appliances provided in a rental might be not just suitable but necessary. Young adult renters are much less likely to own or to be able to own appliances, so they usually prefer a rental home that includes them. Older adults may be trying to downsize after retirement and don’t want the inconvenience 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

Beyond tenant appeal, there are other reasons why including appliances in your rental property might make sense for you. For example, rental property owners who offer appliances can often charge a higher rent than those who don’t. Not only can you recoup the cost of the appliances over the long term, but once those appliances have been compensated, that extra rent will help to increase the cash flow.

An extra benefit of including appliances in your rental home is that it vastly reduces the chance of wall and floor damage during move-in and move-out. Relocating huge appliances in and out of a rental home is challenging, and unless if performed by skilled professionals, it poses the risk of causing damage to floors, walls, and even doors and trim. By maintaining the appliances in place, you stop this potential damage and make the move-in and move-out process even favorable for both you and your tenant.

Potential Drawbacks

Undeniably, including appliances isn’t ideal for everyone. Other landlords don’t want the responsibility of maintenance and repair for appliances, which can seem sensible in some scenarios. For others, the cost of buying appliances may be prohibitive. This is particularly true if you are having cash flow issues or your budget is tight. At times, it may simply not be reasonable to provide good quality appliances to tenants, and so the better decision is to let tenants acquire their own.

Although it is obvious that the decision to provide appliances in your rental home or not is based on many things, it is actually up to you to make the right choice for your properties. On certain occasions, it can be helpful to have an expert Minnetonka property manager on your side to help you make decisions like these. If you’d like additional advice and guidance on how to make your rental property as profitable as it can be, give Real Property Management Viking a call! Our experts 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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