If you own rental property in the Kansas City metro, the appliance question comes up at every turnover: furnish the unit, or leave the hookups empty? The KC landlords I work with and the broader market data say the same thing — a place with a washer and dryer in it leases faster and rents for more. The real question is who owns the machines and who owns the headaches.

What in-unit laundry is worth

In the KC metro, an in-unit washer and dryer typically supports $50–$100/month more rent and noticeably shorter vacancy, especially for single-family homes and townhomes where tenants expect laundry. Tenants comparison-shop listings with filters on; "W/D included" keeps you in the results.

The three ways to get there

1. Buy the appliances yourself. Highest long-run return if the machines behave. But you own every 9 p.m. "the washer is making a noise" text, every service call, and every replacement. Multiply by the number of doors you own.

2. Let the tenant bring their own. Zero cost, zero liability — and zero listing advantage. You also inherit move-in/move-out wall dings and the occasional botched self-install that floods a laundry closet. (If your tenant needs a set, send them my way — that's exactly what I do.)

3. Rent the appliances for the unit. A flat monthly cost per set, delivery and installation included, and every normal-wear repair is my problem, with service typically inside 72 hours. It turns an unpredictable capital-and-maintenance line into a fixed operating expense you can price straight into the rent — and if the property's strategy changes, you hand the set back instead of selling used appliances at a loss.

The math that matters

The comparison isn't "rental fee vs. purchase price." It's:

Rental fee vs. (purchase price ÷ realistic service life) plus repair costs plus your time coordinating service plus the vacancy days an appliance failure can add to a turnover.

For a landlord with one or two doors and a nearby workbench, buying usually pencils out — I'll say that plainly. For owners with several units, out-of-state owners, or anyone whose weekends are worth something, a flat monthly number with the service problem handed off often wins even when the raw math looks close.

How it works with us

Month-to-month, no long-term contract, and I service what I rent. Delivery, installation, and haul-away of dead machines are included. If you've got a portfolio, get in touch — tell me how many doors and we'll figure out what makes sense together.