A lot of people at least consider owning real estate as a passive income revenue stream. It can even work that, eventually, but there are also challenges when you first start, some of which nobody mentions.
If you want passive income, that means you need a property management firm on board. That’s a whole selection process in and of itself.
If you own an apartment building, there is also the challenge of appliances for the laundry room. A consumer-grade washer and dryer set won’t do the job. Will you buy or lease appliances?
If you’re wondering whether you should buy or lease, keep reading for some key reasons you should lease.
Installation
When you buy commercial appliances, many providers will simply deliver the machines and leave the installation up to you. That means dealing with contractors, plumbers, and likely electricians. This is an additional hassle for you or your property management team.
Even worse, it means your tenants must deal with uncertainty about when the machines will get installed and how long the laundry room will remain unavailable. That’s a certain recipe for complaints.
When you lease your equipment, companies like wash.com include installation in the lease agreement.
Maintenance
Another recurring issue when you own the appliances is maintenance. Sure, your own people can theoretically handle basic tasks like cleaning out lint traps. What about when more serious issues crop up?
Is anyone on your payroll qualified to diagnose why that dryer just stopped working? Odds are good that you don’t have anyone on staff with the right know-how to do that. With leased equipment, you often get a maintenance service included as one of the benefits.
Want to increase the odds of same-day or next-day service for your machines or wondering where to lease appliances? You can search online for appliance leasing near me and pick a local provider.
Tech Innovation
Laundry equipment isn’t an area that most people consider ripe for tech innovations. Yet, laundry equipment has enjoyed the fruits of all of the tech advancement in the last few decades the same as most other areas of life.
For example, you can get washers and dryers that accept mobile payments through an app. It might not eliminate the need to haul bags of quarters to the bank, but it can cut down on it. Even better, these kinds of apps also let tenants report problems with the machines.
That can alert you to problems sooner, which helps you manage repairs faster and more efficiently.
You Should Lease Appliances
Buying equipment almost always sounds like the better option at first blush. Yet, with high-use equipment like washers and dryers, the decision to lease appliances often works out better.
You can take advantage of installation and maintenance options as part of the leasing agreement. It can also let you leverage technology for accepting payments and getting alerts about problems. It also lets means you can give the appliances back or trade-up when they near end-of-life.
Looking for more tips on managing your property as an investment? Check out the articles in our Busines section.
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