Coin Operated Laundry in Basement

I have been thinking about installing a coin-operated washer and dryer in my shared basement. I currently have a building with two apartments, with a third apartment on the way. I believe laundry would be a big plus in finding and keeping tenants. Note: I cover all utilities and I currently do not have any hookups. Has anyone done this? Can you recommend a good place to get some coin-op appliances? Do I really need coin-op or can I just have free appliances available in the basement? I don’t want their friends coming over and doing laundry. Thanks for any advice!

putnam

in Appliances 11 years and 7 months ago

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NewOwner | 11 years and 7 months ago

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Because I’m a nerd, I created a little ROI spreadsheet to assess whether creating a new hookup and buying commecial machines would be worthwhile. (I also didn’t have a hookup initially). I initially estimated an approximate 5-yera payback but didn’t account for the several repair visit costs I later incurred. So it’s probably a breakeven proposition at best. That said, the convenience for both the tenants and us makes it totally worthwhile.

putnam | 11 years and 7 months ago

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Thank you all for your input. I’m not as concerned about the upfront price of the appliances as I am about the hookups. I’ll get the hookups and venting priced out and let you know how it goes.

mruby36 | 11 years and 7 months ago

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I had coin opp machines in a 4 family for over 10 years. The extra pocket change more than made up for the incremental costs. This was a long time ago but I know I bought the machines outright, rather than a lease arrangement, from Sears or something like that. There were a few tenant neatness issues from time to time but on balance that was not a problem. Its a great convenience for the tenants, it can easily be the one reason a person would choose to rent your place over another as well. “Emptying the coins etc” mentioned above? Well, that was the fun part. Got kids and need em to do a few things?, guess what gets there attention on coin emptying day… The machines will cost more than regular machines but the deal breaker is likely how difficult the hookups and venting are. That’s a wide range of course depending on how far away pipes, electric and venting options are from the machine placement. Go for it! Matt R www.nyc-hs.com PS: I just googled it before I hit the submit button, washer/dryer for under $1,000 each at Lowes. Heres the link: http://www.lowes.com/Appliances/Washers-Dryers/_/N-1z11pml/pl?Ntt=coin-operated+washer+and+dryer#!

GoodProspect | 11 years and 7 months ago

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I looked into it awhile back as a nice amenity to add for our 4 family building. Was quickly dissuaded by increase in our costs (water, machines, installation) and hassle.

JoeBushwick | 11 years and 7 months ago

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I put coin-operated machines in the basement of my six-family. The process of getting water, waste and electric installed was fairly involved – aprox. $5K and the machines are more expensive than standard units. My tenants like it but it is a maintenance issue, keeping the area clean, emptying the coins, etc. I found that unless you are buying commercial laundry equipment which are prohibitively expensive, there are very few choices of coin operated equipment. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions – jec344 at yahoo dot com