When I’m first onboarding a new owner, especially one who lives in the house they are currently going to rent out, I often get asked if they should, or can, leave the washer and dryer behind. It sounds like a good idea, and an excellent selling point, right?
In a perfect world, yes. However, leaving the washer and dryer behind for the tenant to use often creates an extra expense – and potential headache – for the landlord.
A washer and dryer typically will not “sell” a home. The only exception I will make to this is in a condo where a stackable washer and dryer are the only option. So, leaving the washer and dryer creates an extra maintenance liability on the landlord to potentially repair or replace during the lease. When it didn’t increase the value of the rental property, nor was a selling point when you were marketing the rental.
But how about leaving them “as is”. If they break, the tenant can either repair or replace them at their own expense, or junk them and bring in their own. Sounds reasonable, right? Couple of issues with this.
One, say you have a tenant that just moved into the property. I’ve had this happen numerous times. Owner says the washer and dryer work fine, tenant moves in, and bam – washer doesn’t work! We tell the tenant, So sorry, but the washer is offered “as is”, so we aren’t going to be making repairs. The tenant is upset because they just sold their washer from their old house, and now they have to go buy another one. And it’s even worse when they first move in and this happens. They’re already stressed with moving, we as the property managers are trying to get off on the right foot with the tenant so we have a long and prosperous relationship, and now they’re upset because their washer doesn’t work.
Another scenario….the tenant lives there for six months, and then the washer stops working. The tenant says fine, they’ll just replace with their own. But, what do they do with the old washer? There’s no place to put it. You, as the owner, are on the hook financially to pay someone to come get it and haul it off.
This is why I always encourage my owners to sell the washer and dryer. Though it sounds nice to leave them behind for the tenants’ use, there’s just too much risk involved, and unnecessary potential chaos. If you can, sell the washer and dryer before you move.
Thanks for taking the time to watch this video, and I hope it’s provided some understanding on the negative impacts of leaving the washer and dryer behind.