In the Phoenix rental market, providing appliances for your tenants is necessary and listing the house without will put your property at a competitive disadvantage. As a Phoenix property owner, being responsible for the appliances is unfortunate because appliance repair and replacement is expensive and most tenants will not treat the appliances like they would if they owned them. However, there are some strategies that can be utilized to help minimize the expenses involved with these items.
One of the things that you can do is make the tenant responsible for repair of the "optional" appliances such as fridge, washer and dryer. If you opt for this than you must be sure that all are in good working order at move in. Also, if you need to buy an appliance at one of your Phoenix rental properties, it is best that you buy a new one versus used however keep the new one simple and "frill free". For example, when buying a microwave, don't buy one with a revolving plate as that is an "extra" that can break and is not needed for the overall functioning of heating food. Another example, is buying a fridge without an automatic ice maker or a water dispenser on the door. Again these are all examples of items that aren't needed to keep food refrigerated/frozen but can break at anytime. Lastly, if you are short on funds for appliances remember that washer and dryers are more optional whereas a fridge is really a must have.
