NSW Dishwasher in an investment property

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by giraffez, 9th Jul, 2020.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
Tags:
  1. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    27,100
    Location:
    Sydney or NSW or Australia
  2. giraffez

    giraffez Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    4th Dec, 2015
    Posts:
    595
    Location:
    NSW
  3. MB18

    MB18 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    25th Sep, 2018
    Posts:
    1,374
    Location:
    NT
    Depending on the area / competition dishwasher is a must.
    Personally a carpark and a dishwasher are about my only two non-negotiables which ties is with a survey I saw years ago - sometimes aircon but that is depended on location obviously.

    I've never ever had a problem with a dishwasher and never done anything special to look after the thing other than clearing a filter if it looked blocked.

    Some people are just plain idiots, but leave a folder in the property with a copy of all the appliance manuals so they can troubleshoot themselves before calling a problem (especially if it's a wierd European thing, or worse a Chinese cheapie). Having those manuals has saved me a phonecall or two to the PM.
    If it turn out they haven't even followed the instructions in the manual then they should rightly be expected to pay a callout - however that happens to work in practice.
     
    Last edited: 10th Jul, 2020
    Sylvia, AlphabetSoup, Rugrat and 2 others like this.
  4. Phoenix Pete

    Phoenix Pete Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    1st Jul, 2016
    Posts:
    346
    Location:
    PM - Sydney NSW
    Pilot light going out is covered already.

    Loss of electricity can be caused by a faulty appliance belonging to the property or to the tenant. If the tenant has a faulty appliance and it is tripping the power, then the tenant is liable for costs.
     
    giraffez likes this.
  5. chooke

    chooke Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    144
    Location:
    Perth
    Had a new tenant once that reported a fault with the dishwasher. The issue was they used sink dishwashing liquid. In fairness to them they never used a dishwasher before so I paid half of the call out fee. Now with any new tenant I always leave a few dishwasher tablets at the premises so they get the general idea.
     
  6. Bigdiamond

    Bigdiamond Member

    Joined:
    30th Jul, 2020
    Posts:
    11
    Location:
    Victoria
    Dishwasher is neither here nor there when it comes to the overall rentability of a place. You'll always get some folks who don't need one.

    Less appliances in IP, less to maintain, less to break down. That's one good reason not to have one. I certainly regard it as a non essential creature comfort in my properties.

    And as for the dishwasher getting clogged with food. If the tenant is shown to be liable (in that case they are), make it clear that they'll be footing the bill. That should be clear from the outset and made clear to your PM who acts as the first point of contact, before any trade goes out.

    In the old Soviet Union we used to say "Trust, but verify". The tenant tells you it broke on its own, take them at their word, but verify just in case, use a reliable tradie (and that's not always the one recommended by the PM).

    Make sure they understand how to use the appliances in the property with the proper documentation and if that's not enough for them, they wear the expense of misuse. Period.
     
  7. neK

    neK Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    2,842
    Location:
    Sydney
    They are that good huh? Still at the top of their game even after 15 years ? :p
     
  8. Fargo

    Fargo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23rd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,304
    Location:
    Vic
    But you may not get the best tenant given a choice a decent tenant would take a dish washer I would think there is something wrong with somebody who doesnt need a dish washer. Do they not have friends ?, dinner parties ?, waste money on take aways or at the pub then cant pay rent ? Having a good functional kitchen is a key to being able to get good tenants @ a premium especially at the moment . If they dont respect your dish washer they dont respect your property, get rid of your tenant not the dishwaher. Dish washers are very reliable, replaced 2 out of 7 properties in 12 years and they were already decades old and they cost bugger all, about the same as 2 one week vacancies you may get by not having one. Whats that saying penny wise pound foolish.
     
    Last edited: 31st Jul, 2020
    Sylvia and Tony3008 like this.
  9. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    13,933
    Location:
    Brisbane
    We noticed over the past 20 years that tenants were coming to expect a dishwasher, a deck and air-con. As our rentals came up for tenant changeover, we added what was missing.

    We actually had potential tenants walk away because we didn't have a deck. As soon as we had funds to do so, we added these items as we could between tenants. Our houses were never flash new builds, but are older Queenslanders, and people don't expect "flash and fancy" but they do expect what most people would consider essential... deck (or outdoor area linked to the house), dishwasher, air-con.
     
    balwoges likes this.
  10. skater

    skater Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    10,222
    Location:
    Sydney? Gold Coast?
    Huh?

    This makes no sense whatsoever.

    Not everyone is the same, & not all properties are the same.

    If I had a nice new property in a prestige area, then there's no question, a dishwasher is a must. However if I've got a property in a lower socio area, a dishwasher is often not always expected, and won't affect the rent you will receive. In a similar vein, some units have such small kitchens that a dishwasher just won't fit. There's nothing wrong with manually washing the dishes.
     
    Sylvia and Perp like this.
  11. summer

    summer Active Member

    Joined:
    28th Jan, 2020
    Posts:
    27
    Location:
    ACT
    Im currently a renter and I hate dishwashers. Why? Because I used to live in a share house and none of my flatmates would never rinse their dishes or clean the dishwasher out. So it meant the dishwasher would always stink and get clogged. I also hated the fact that they would turn it on with one knife, or one plate in their all the time if that's the one knife or plate they wanted to use, so lazy.

    For me my essentials are parking (garage preferred) and good heating.
     
  12. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    23,319
    Location:
    Sydney
    4 short stay units in germany = added d/ws even for just a few glasses and plates. Its a global expectation to have a d/w and toaster, kettle, coffee facilities etc and a cold fridge and is mandatory in much of europe to save water. There is a supply of d/w fairy pouches at all times. When people leave they generally run it now where they used to leave dirty items. If they do its fine and is quickly done. We also removed all stemmed glasses (breakages and for d/w fit) and made all items in kitchen d/w friendly. A d/w uses about same amount of water as half a sink. (14l) and limits water waste. The units are programmed to a eco cycle and are kiddie locked to stop tampering. We dont supply dish liquid to avoid it being used in a d/washer and discourage water waste. Each has overflow protection and poses no flooding risks provided its properly installed.

    D/washers arent a modern appliance. It should not be like being shocked to have a flushing loo.
     
  13. Zimplestiltskin

    Zimplestiltskin Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    4th Oct, 2018
    Posts:
    421
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Yeah, I think a dishwasher gets you an extra $10 to $15 a week in rent regardless of where you are.

    Try writing out correct use instructions for the tenant.
     
  14. Bigdiamond

    Bigdiamond Member

    Joined:
    30th Jul, 2020
    Posts:
    11
    Location:
    Victoria
    That makes absolutely no sense. A decent tenant would take a dish washer? Something wrong with somebody who doesn't use a dishwasher? What complete and utter rubbish, maybe you don't know enough people. Usually it's a waste of money, as many tenants honestly don't care. From my experience, particularly with smaller properties and units, if you're leasing to one or two people, they take a few days or a week to fill the dish washer, they find it as convenient washing the dishes day by day by hand, not leaving dirty ones in the machine for days on end or running it half full. But it's your money to spend if you deem them a necessity. What's that other saying? Too many dollars, not enough sense.
     
  15. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    13,933
    Location:
    Brisbane
    Clearly it comes down to the house, rental price, tenant demographic. In our experience and our IP demographic, it is expected. Same goes for air-con and outdoor living area or deck.
     
    Sylvia and Rugrat like this.
  16. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    5th Apr, 2016
    Posts:
    5,751
    Location:
    Melbourne
    These days, there is no need to rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Just scrape them well. Which any tenant can do. Make sure they know this is required though, as not everyone will realise this.

    Rinsing dishes is a waste of water and time - may as well just hand wash them if rinsing them.
     
    Perp, wylie and Shazz@ like this.
  17. Kathryn_QLD

    Kathryn_QLD Member

    Joined:
    29th Jun, 2019
    Posts:
    19
    Location:
    Casino
    We had dishwasher in one rental. Stopped working and we replaced it. 18 months later tenants moved out and dishwasher had to be thrown out due to damage( knife hole through interior skin). Didn't replace it. Space is there and new tenant can get their own one installed. Just another thing that gets destroyed.