washer and dryer swap dilemna

[Doug]

I have an old Maytag heavy duty dryer (about 14+ years old) and Whirlpool washer (about 3.5 yrs old, model WTW57ESVW0), and so far they work great. I got the Whirlpool based on the recommendation of my appliance fix it guy and he said to avoid the electronics so that's why I picked this washing machine model.

Now I just bought an investment home to rent that came with Samsung front loaders ( washer model: dv409 ; dryer model: wf419aaw ) which I estimate to be about 3 years old with pedestals so you don't have to bend that much for either.

My dilemna is that I like what I have in my own house but I'm hesitant to let strange rental people use the fancy Samsungs. I was thinking of swapping the Samsungs with mine but I'm undecided. It would cost me about $120 to do so (houses are like 4 miles apart). Another idea is to store the Samsungs and install new ones in the rental home but I guess storing appliances probably isn't the best idea due to seals drying out, etc..??? I guess I'm too attached to my own washer and dryer (in my own home). I guess I need to realize that my old Maytag dryer could go kaput any day now at this age and that if I left the Samsungs in the rental home and they need repair, it would be tax deductible. Not sure if that helps me decide any but still should be considered.

Any opinions?

[Doug]

Before someone jumps down my throat for saying this is off topic, you are correct. I should have said OT in the subject line but forgot. My apologies if it offends anyone but if it does, feel free to skip my posts.

[trader4]

If it were me, I'd swap them

[Molly Brown]

My opinion: Leave everything where it is.

[TomR]

My vote would be to leave all of the washers and dryers where they are. Your potential tenants will like the ones they will be getting to use, so renting the place should be easier etc., and it saves you the time and expense of having to do anything now to change them around.

Some landlords put a clause in their leases that the appliances such as a washer/dryer are there for the tenants' convenience but that the tenants are responsible for all repairs and for buying their own replacements if replacement is needed. In other words, the lease says that the lease includes the washer/dryer hookup but not the appliances themselves. I don't do that, but many landlords do. That way, if one of the machines breaks you won't necessarily have to replace it with another front loading machine.

If you have a smart CPA/accountant, he/she may suggest that you do "component depreciation" or "cost segregation" (or some term like that) where you depreciate the building over 27 years but you can depreciate items that are not a permanent part of the building (such as washers and dryers, even gutters, etc) over less time such as 3-5 years. So, leaving the front loading washer/dryer setup there may give you a larger depreciation expense for those items.

Depending on where you are located, if you go to:

and click on your State, you may be able to find a real estate investor association near you that you can join. For anyone who owns one or more rental properties, or who wants to do other forms of real estate investing, these are a great resource and are worth joining for around $125/year.

[TomR]

I belong to 2 real estate investor associations (REIA's) in my area -- one in the State where I live and one in an adjacent State. One has about 400 members and the other has about 900 members. Both have a number of Realtors as members, both brokers and sales agents. Most, if not all, of them are investors themselves. So, they learn a lot that saves them more money each year in their real estate investments than the cost of their dues. Plus, many of them end up with more business by helping other fellow members find properties etc.

Both REIA's have online discussion groups for their members where people post questions, suggestions, etc. about buying, selling, renting, evicting, financing, repairing, rehabbing, flipping, etc. etc. Both of the REIA's to which I belong are also chapters of the National Real Estate Investor's Association, which means that all of the local members (like me) get the benefits that are offered through the national association. These include things like 2% back on all Home Depot purchases, discounts on paint products through Sherwin Williams and MAB Paint Stores, etc.

Both REIA's have monthly "main meetings" and several small "sub-group" meetings per month that focus on specific topics such a landlording, rehabbing, flipping, wholesaling, setting up and buying properties with a self-directed IRA, private lending/borrowing, etc.

I don't get any commission or anything else for drumming up memberships for REIA's. And, the REIA's themselves are not perfect. But, overall, I think that anyone who is involved in real estate investing should at least attend a meeting or two if they have a REIA in their local area. Most have websites that describe what they do, what the benefits of membership are, etc.

[Doug]

To be honest, all things considered and checking with my wife's preference (she doesn't care), I'm leaning to what you said. I haven't yet made my final decision as I just want to see what others say here before I decide. I need to decide because I have other things waiting on this decision too.

And thanks for your vote of confidence on the OT. I still think it's a bit off (no repair actually here) but it's related to homes otherwise. Anyway I appreciate what you said. Thank you.

[HeyBub]

Second that.

The front-loading Samsung will break sooner than the 14-year old Maytag. Meanwhile, the front-loader will be an attractive selling point to the renter and you should be able to get $25 or more per month for the fancy-schmancy washer.

Put the $25 in the mattress to replace the washer when if finally croaks.