All Forum Posts by: Damian Komosa

Coin Operated seems to be the blanket correct answer I've seen when considering the Landlord provided laundry options. The goal in my mind is to choose the option that provides for least- costly, headache free and be closest to repair impervious. The property in mind is a Quadplex with one laundry area that is catered toward lower-middle class individuals. Property is on one water- meter and would only have a single set of washers/ dryers.

Option #1: Traditional Commercial Coin-Operated Unit

This is the one I was originally going to go with until I started looking into prices of quality coin-operated machines and the company I was focusing on was SpeedQueen. Prices for a stackable set were in the 2000-3000 dollar range. I don’t really envision getting a return on investment anytime soon with only 4 units, one of them being occupied by me. This would obviously be more than the 0$ I would be getting from Option #2. I have heard that these commercial units tend to be more durable against tenants. The issue of collecting quarters wouldn’t currently be an issue while house-hacking, but could be a hassle long term.

Option #2: Provide a Traditional Non-coin operated Unit

This would be going against the grain because I have read horror stories where people were brining their entire families to do laundry at a property, but I would just imagine that not to be common. The upfront cost would be significantly lower than the commercial grade unit, but the units could potentially be more delicate against tenants. This would surely also raise the water/ electricity bill as people would be doing more loads of laundry. With this option, the eventual collection of quarters would be avoided, but that’s not a main concern.

Option #3- Infinity: Other Solid Options others have implemented

Please tell me any strong opinions you have one way or the other. I’m sure there are factors that I’m missing or different solid options. Any information is appreciated on the topic.

I have recently purchased my first multifamily property (house-hack), which is a Converted Quadplex on the Iowa side of the Quad Cities. To my surprise, it has failed a full rental license inspection due to one detail that I had never considered before. This detail is due to the fact that the singular electrical panel is located inside the basement unit of the Quadplex and all tenants must have access to the panel in emergency situations.

The options given to me by the inspectors were:

Option 1: Make the basement a general area, giving each tenant access

Cons: 

Loss revenue: $6500-7500 per year leading to the property negatively cash flowing.

Pros: 

My issue of creatively placing a communal laundry area would be remedied, saving me a one time project cost of about $5,000- 15,000. 

One less tenant to worry about.

The basement unit is the one that would be lowest priced, least desirable and most likely hardest to rent.

Option 2: Separately Meter the units

Cons:

Extremely expensive project costing multiple tens of thousands of dollars, with finished units throughout the house. This project would take many years to get my return on investment as the total rents of the full building would come out to approximately $2600 dollars a month.

Old construction meaning part of the wiring is extremely dated and would require replacement.

Pros:

Would allow all four units to be rented, allowing me to get full revenue potential of the property.

This would future- proof the house and provide peace of mind.

All the benefits of sub-metering, such as separate utility bills and marketability of property if I ever end up putting it for sale.

****Neither of these options currently seem ideal and I am wondering what innovative ideas people have used to remedy similar issues. Any ideas would be appreciated as this is my first long-term rental and even the Head of Community Development has not run into similar issues.***

Note: Currently in conversation with real estate attorney about anything that can be done using the rental contract to remedy the issue.