On Rentals and Clean Fridges
Our old house has been functioning as a rental for the past four years. It is now, finally, in the hands of a couple who want to buy it as soon as they can (and are renting it in the meantime). They brought their own refrigerator and stove with them, so they asked what they should do with the ones we'd had there.
Since we own a 2-flat, we have two kitchens that have to remain functional in case we ever need to refinance or whatever -- our property value will, on paper, plummet should one of the kitchens become "nonfunctional." We've upgraded both major appliances in the main kitchen, but the ones upstairs were old and decrepit to begin with and showing their age in a downhill slide, especially the stove. So we thought we'd rent a U-Haul truck, bring over the ones from the old house, and get a nice upgrade, for free!
Ha. For $100ish on the rental, a heck of a lot of work, and probably a couple hundred bucks in replacement parts for things like a broken refrigerator shelf, more like. Getting the old fridge and stove moved was hard enough to make it feel like we were paying for getting the new ones; $40 to the local semi-homeless guy who's always asking us for odd jobs got me out of being part of getting the "new" appliances up the stairs, but Chris still had to be the second person involved in that. (I have never appreciated paying for delivery more. Just, y'know, in case you were thinking it mightn't be worth the money: It totally is.)
Today is my turn to pay sweat equity for these things; I get to clean them up. The fridge had been off and uncleaned while the house was being fixed up to sell, and this appears to have been a mistake; mold was allowed to take over the inside of the freezer, and the fridge wasn't in much better shape. I haven't even looked at the stove yet, except to verify that it'll be a heck of a job. I'm most of the way through the fridge right now -- only the door left to do -- and then I have to figure out how to swap the handles and the hinges so the doors open in the opposite direction from what they do now.
All of which is to say: If you have ever looked at a property you were considering renting or buying and found that the appliances were clean, do not take that for granted. It did not just happen. Someone worked for that cleanliness.
Newt
Since we own a 2-flat, we have two kitchens that have to remain functional in case we ever need to refinance or whatever -- our property value will, on paper, plummet should one of the kitchens become "nonfunctional." We've upgraded both major appliances in the main kitchen, but the ones upstairs were old and decrepit to begin with and showing their age in a downhill slide, especially the stove. So we thought we'd rent a U-Haul truck, bring over the ones from the old house, and get a nice upgrade, for free!
Ha. For $100ish on the rental, a heck of a lot of work, and probably a couple hundred bucks in replacement parts for things like a broken refrigerator shelf, more like. Getting the old fridge and stove moved was hard enough to make it feel like we were paying for getting the new ones; $40 to the local semi-homeless guy who's always asking us for odd jobs got me out of being part of getting the "new" appliances up the stairs, but Chris still had to be the second person involved in that. (I have never appreciated paying for delivery more. Just, y'know, in case you were thinking it mightn't be worth the money: It totally is.)
Today is my turn to pay sweat equity for these things; I get to clean them up. The fridge had been off and uncleaned while the house was being fixed up to sell, and this appears to have been a mistake; mold was allowed to take over the inside of the freezer, and the fridge wasn't in much better shape. I haven't even looked at the stove yet, except to verify that it'll be a heck of a job. I'm most of the way through the fridge right now -- only the door left to do -- and then I have to figure out how to swap the handles and the hinges so the doors open in the opposite direction from what they do now.
All of which is to say: If you have ever looked at a property you were considering renting or buying and found that the appliances were clean, do not take that for granted. It did not just happen. Someone worked for that cleanliness.
Newt