Tenant buys new appliances

Tenant buys new appliances

Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes

Single family home new tenant who works in the appliance business.

He would like to put in new water saving appliances for the washer and dishwasher, that was stated up front and I tentatively agreed after considering a few things.

The washer itself was a brand new, 3 month old unit, that was replaced by me after the old one died.  I have another rental with a washer living on borrowed time that could use a swap, so it works out.

The dishwasher is a very old model and I have been thinking about replacing it as well as reworking some electrical behind it because the original receptacle junction box was behind the dishwasher, which means both the dishwasher and the disposer are plugged in behind that instead of the sink cabinet which is where I want to relocate that to.

Prior to lease signing, tenant agreed to buy his own washer and dishwasher, as well as pay for the needed installation, and at the end of the lease term, I have the option to purchased his appliance if the price is agreeable to me, or he can take them with him.  Since the time table for the new appliance is uncertain, we did not put that into the lease, and the lease still stated tenant are not allowed to replace, remove, repair...appliance without explicit written permission from landlord.  We agreed to an addendum later.

So a few months gone by and in the last few weeks, the new dishwasher and washer are in, no glitches, he even hired my recommended handyman to do the install, who at the same time with my instructions relocated the junction box, as well as changed out the existing hot water valve to a dual valve instead of the messy adapter tees and connectors.  He broke down the bill and charged each of us for the appropriate part.

Now that it's all said and done, I need to work up an addendum to cover this.

In my original lease, I have an appliance list which stated each appliance, brand, model, serial number, whether it's included with the premises, and whether landlord is responsible for it's maintenance.  For example, in one rental I included a garbage disposer but I don't warranty it.  I told the tenant the day it dies it dies and I am not putting in a new one.

So, all I need to do is to put in an addendum to strike out the dishwasher and washer and initial it etc...

HOWEVER, one thing I am unclear of is with an arrangement like this, if the new dishwasher breaks down in 3 months, obviously I am not obligated to it's maintenance as it's not MY dishwasher.  What if the tenant decides to sell HIS dishwasher in 3 months because he doesn't like it, am I obligated to restore a dishwasher there?  I can see argument for and against, and I think I need to write that into the addendum.

Thoughts?

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  • Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 922 posts · 336 votes
    12y

    You are in Control

    but ultimately its what you 2 have agree on and what is stated in the Lease Agreement. Make sure you get that addendum and cover yourself and have him sign it.  

  • Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    12y

    I suppose you could write a clause in there to cover all bases but I highly doubt your tenant would go through all that trouble to then sell his dishwasher leaving him without one only to try and make you buy him a new one.

  • Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
    12y

    @James Wise, I agree.  I am just thinking about when the lease term is about to be up the tenant might decide to sell these appliances 30 days, 45 days prior to move out date.  Then at that point if a request is made to restore the appliance that was removed, then we are sort of in uncharted water.  Not that I am completely against it, because if I don't buy his I am going to have to get new ones installed before I can rent it anyways.  I just wanted that to be at my discretion on my time table, and would like to get some feedback here if that's reasonsable.  The tenant has been great and issue free.

  • Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 67 posts · 29 votes
    12y
    Sam Leon have you considered just buying the appliances from the tenant now? This would alleviate the question of ownership/maintenance that you will run into later, plus it seems like your tenant picked good appliances at a good price so it may even save you money (if he chose not to sell when the lease expired). Once you own them, you can clarify that you will conduct maintenance, etc as you would for any other tenant.
  • Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
    12y

    @Josh Dotzler 

    I guess the reason is since I didn't pick those appliance, and have no idea if they are a good buy, I don't see a reason for me to volunteer to buy them at this point, as well as assuming maintenance on them now instead of much later.

    Further, the washer was actually too big (deep), to the point that the closet door bangs on it.  I had urged them to take measurements to make sure the appliance fit, but they end up getting an extra deep one.  So chances are I wouldn't want to keep the washer anyways.

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