In my neck of the woods, it's often a Frigidaire for refrigerators that landlords go for (through Lowes)...for a 3 bedroom house the 18 cubic foot one is popular. It's often on sale and Lowes (and Home Depot) both do free delivery.
Never touching Whirlpool or Lowes for appliances after last summer. They are all coming from homedepot, until they piss me off.
Brand new Whirlpool fridge last year, 6 weeks later it goes wrong. Get our appliance guy out to have a quick look and it requires a part that would take 6 weeks for him to get. So we spoke to Lowes, who we expected to stand behind a 6 week old fridge. They didn't. Put us in touch with the manufacturers repair company as it was over 4 weeks old.
After a lot of arguing with the manager in Lowes over two days, he eventaully gave us a loaner fridge.
The repair company managed to fix the new fridge just short of 4 months after it went wrong, and dear old Lowes called (and to isn't a joke) nearly every two days asking if they could have the loaner back. They made it very clear that it was our responsibility to get it repaired and not theirs. I wouldn't mind this attitude if it had been a year old fridge, but it was just 6 weeks old!
I generally go one level up from the bottom of the line. I've found they tend to be more durable and the small difference in price is worth it. I tried doing used appliances for years, and it's usually not worth it. (Electric stoves might be one small exception, but even then I've given up on them). I use GE electric stoves and Whirlpool Dishwashers (though I'll buy GE if it's on sale). I seem to get good life out of them.
Get out of the fridge business if you can. My market doesn't require landlord-provided fridges so I never provide one. Those are the ones that break down the most and cause the most problems.
My clients generally establish a good relationship with a local store or representative. It is very helpful as they will work with you on solid advice for brand/price and service. With 1 of the REIA groups we focus on an annual update to review with members future changes and specific pricing closeouts. They can definitely become a strong member of your team.
I look for a refurbished higher end brand from a local dealer.
If they don't have what I am looking for in stock, and I have to buy new, I buy Frigidaire from Goedeker's as they include good warranties and you get free shipping, and no tax
I usually go with GE, Whirlpool or Frigidaire as at least one of them always seems to be in stock or on sale. In the past I always bought my appliances through a wholesale distributer since they had slightly better pricing but after having a microwave fail after a few months I had to go back through the manufacturer for service. Long story short, it was easier to just buy a new one.
Going forward I will be purchasing appliances through one of the big box stores that I can just bring it back and swap out if needed and let them deal with the manufacturer.