Gas or Electric Stove for rental

[Kyle McVay]

We have come to an impasse on the sort of stove to put in our first rental. One says gas and the other says electric. There is a gas line & electric hook-up available for the stove. The house has a gas water heater & furnace, so gas will be turned on. Please let me know why you think what you think. 

We read a lot of Bigger Pockets books before we jumped in and I thought we were prepared but we are learning so much every day!

Thanks, y'all have been so helpful. 

[JD Martin]

Electric all day long. This will sound harsh but tenants are in general too dumb to be using gas stoves. It is easy, even with modern stoves, to leave the gas knob on and gas flowing right into the unit. I have a pretty upscale relatively new (4 years) gas range in my own home and you can turn the knob past the ignition point and just let gas flow on right into the home. I would never trust that kind of setup with renters. 

As far as what renters would prefer to cook on, who cares? If they want a gas range they can go out and buy their own home. Electric ranges are inexpensive, common, can be hooked up by anyone. I don't even want the doofus people I see bringing stuff out to my rentals from the box stores hooking up a replacement gas range.