UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi everyone

Picture the scene...

You purchase a property that has a fully furnished kitchen (washing machine, dishwasher, oven, etc). These appliances are about 1-2 years old but fully functioning.

You are about to put the property on rent with the full appliances.

Do you..

A) State on the tenancy that you are supplying the white goods but the maintenance, repairs, and even replacement is up to the tenant. The tenant may even be within his rights to take the white goods with them if they leave. So your basically giving the appliances to the tenant.

B) Maintain responsibility for the appliances. Any repairs or replacements come out of your pocket.

C) Remove all appliances and provide an empty kitchen so tenant can choose their own appliances.

D) Any other suggestions.

If they were all new appliances with reputable brands (durable), I would happily choose option B, however the brand is of the cheaper end of the market, and I estimate the life of these appliances to last for another 1-2 years if that

I look forward to your responses.

A.) What if the tenants leave first chance they get and take all white goods with them?
B.) That can get pricey if they mistreat them
C.) Good approach but only if property let out unfurnished ... otherwise would look odd. They might ask for a washer though, then what?
D.) Consider having all white goods on a repair plan by an appliance repair/warranty service and budget for this fix expense annually. I pay £100p/a for a washer/dryer combination unit and £50 p/a for a dish washer and £50 p/a for the fridge/freezer.

Cheers Armin

So you would do option D.

So that's £200 a year.. can work I suppose.

However, what about the cooker/hob?

Also with this service, I assume call-outs and parts are included. What if the appliances are beyond repair? Will they arrange a replacement, perhaps for like for like?

I just thought of an option E - Put away £15/month into a white goods stash. When you need to replace n appliance, use this fund.

I actually didn't consider the cooker/oven/hob at all ... I never had to replace one, the gas ones are quite hard-wearing and I only ever had problem with GRIME. But I suppose those as well could be put on a service plan if you buy them for the tenants. Of course it all adds up ... my plan is to not have an agent, for with less to supervise (i.e. white goods are taken care of by someone else), why bother with one.

I have just thought of another approach to option D.

Armin I am assuming your repair service is with an independent company? (Not the same as where you purchased your appliance)

If so, what you could do is buy a fairly cheap appliance and simply take out a 5 year extended warranty. This will be cheaper in most cases.

For example, you buy a fridge/freezer and pay £50/year, over 5 years that is £250. Taking out a 5 year warranty with the retailer (comet, currys, etc) will be half this and you are pretty much covered for everything.

X,

When you take out extended warranties via a retailer, then the service is provided by one of these aforementioned companies. At least in my experience. For example Domestic & General.

-Armin

Spot on. My point is the price difference. It seems cheaper to do it through the retailer.

I'd agree with that if you acquire the goods brand new then I'd think it's a good idea to compare an extended warranty via the retailer to a service plan by a third party provider. Just keep in mind that on a 5 year extended warranty plan you're in effect paying for the extra 4 for the first year is typically included.

In my particular case, I inherited a relatively modern dishwasher with my property, so I went straight to D&G.

yep definitely. I think doing it this way is the most cost-effective solution, plus the tenant gets peace of mind knowing the white goods are provided and maintained.

"Just keep in mind that on a 5 year extended warranty plan you're in effect paying for the extra 4 for the first year is typically included"

This comment depends on the retailer. For example, with comet, pc world, etc, taking out a 5 year plan overrides the 1 year manufacturers guarantee. As you rightly stated, this is then insured with a company like D&G, which is a lot more comprehensive than the standard 1 year guarantee which is covered of course by the manufacturer. So you are actually paying for 5 years.

However some companies like Apple (I think), you pay to extend the manufactuers guarantee, nothing more comprehensive, simply just an extension of the 1 year, which is free anway