Think about this when you look for a fridge for your rental. A refrigerator is an insulated box with a mechanism to cool its interior. Everything beyond that concept is attractive packaging and something that can cost money to fix. Buy the best refrigerators for your ROI.
Form Vs. Function
Refrigerators are a prestige item. If they weren’t why would anyone pay four grand for a fridge? Especially when it’s known that the larger, and more feature laden units are more prone to failure. They’re like cars.
If we bought only cars that only fulfilled their function, we would all drive front wheel drive hatchbacks that were safe and got great fuel mileage or ten seat cargo vans.
In the same way, people don’t all buy refrigerators with the freezer on top and absent any other features like an icemaker.
Instead they buy the largest refrigerators they can fit and afford, and have every feature they can pay for. If it wasn’t true, manufacturers wouldn’t build fridges like the one below.
How Much Is Too Much?
The above fridge is $ 7,198, on sale, on Home Depot’s site. It features auto open doors and drawers. A soda is kept at the same forty degrees in an $800 fridge or this well cooled, and highly featured food closet. It’s just a thought.
You can buy things for your home, including a fridge, because you like them. You may want automatic French doors, self opening drawers, and wifi connectivity. That’s all well and good. However, in your investments the key phrase, again, is “bang for the buck”. When you get the most out of what you put in your rentals, you make money for what you want in your home.
The right refrigerator for your rental property is the one that helps bring in the most money, has the fewest problems, and the minimum investment.
Does it Fit For Your ROI?
Not one fridge is going to work with every rental. If your rental is in the high end of your market, a refrigerator with a top mounted freezer and no features may seem out of place, or substandard. Conversely, a French door refrigerator that costs between two and four thousand dollars probably isn’t going to do anything to increase ROI in a small apartment that doesn’t carry prestige.
Now, if you’re renting out a property that is bringing in $3000 plus a month, you are probably renting a relatively prestigious space. If a fridge with more features will help quickly bring in the class of renter you need at a rent that justifies it in your market, buy it.
When you buy a high prestige fridge like the one above be aware that there’s a high likelihood that it will require expensive repairs within the first five years. So, if you are going to use this as high end tenant bait, get your money out of it in increased rents, and do it quickly.
The majority of rental property owners are not going to be splashing in this gilded puddle filled with fine wine. The fridge that will have the best returns is the one that has an attractive finish that; matches the other kitchen appliances, has adequate capacity, and high longevity. The fridge with the most bang for the buck.
What is an attractive finish? Stainless steel will fit with nearly any kitchen. Over the years as appliances need to be replaced, stainless will be available regardless of brand. This enables the purchaser to replace appliances with ones that offer the best return on investment. Stainless steel has been considered an attractive finish for a long time also. The same can be said of a white finish. It’s often less expensive too.
What Not To Buy For Your Rental
Right off the bat scratch French door refrigerators unless you are buying for the high end. They are the most problematic refrigerators available. This is according to a large appliance retailer in the Boston area that has it’s own service department with 33 technicians. Also Whirlpool had two class action lawsuits filed against them because of their French door units leaking. Consumer Reports has also stated that more than one manufacturer has problems with their French door models.
The next refrigerator to consider taking off the list is LG. LG has scored high in some owner surveys for it’s top freezer units. However, as recently as 2018, the compressors in LG fridges failed at a high rate. The compressor is the heart of a refrigerator. If the compressor fails, the fridge doesn’t cool. They failed so often that the consumer affairs reporter at KUTV in Salt Lake City investigated the problem. He found that the failure rate was high enough, repair companies we’re either refusing to fix them, or the customer would have to wait months for a repair.
What A Repair Tech Says
I spoke to an independent local technician. He repairs everything from industrial to automotive and residential air conditioning and refrigeration. He said that LG had come out with a new compressor that supposedly solved the problem. However, with other choices out there, is it worth it to be the canary in the coalmine?
Another thing that guy said was, if you’re buying a fridge, the main component, the compressor, is pretty much the same from brand to brand. Only the South Korean manufacturers (Samsung and LG) build their own compressors. The rest of the manufacturers decide what they want in a compressor and find someone to make it for them. Therefore, there’s no reason for brand loyalty.
The best choice in a supplied refrigerator is what will bring in money for your investment property. If you are renting out a $300 a month apartment, a fridge with a top mounted freezer will suffice.
If you’re renting out a house, or a high end space, getting something more extravagant might be in order. Just be sure that you buy what it takes to get the customer in and keep them there so you can maximize your ROI. Don’t spend any more than it takes to accomplish that.
To learn more about how Jacob Grant can improve your Passive ROI with maintenance advice, call 208-795-8218 or schedule a call Schedule call
