Coin Laundry - Nice to Have or More Headaches than Income?

[Nir]

Hi All,

I am having a dilemma regarding an existing coin laundry and wanted to ask investors with similar experience or who currently own a coin laundry in one of their basements:

Shortly after purchasing a multiplex and collecting coins from the money box, the money box has been continuously empty as if someone has the key to the money box or cover or operates it without coins somehow(?) My question is is it worth the effort to replace the money box and its cover and get new keys or will tenants always find a way to break in, steal and use it for free somehow?

In other words does the technology exist to run it smoothly without theft or is it not worth the effort/investment?

THANKS,
Neil

 

[terri]

If it doesn`t look tampered with then maybe someone else has a key, why don`t you get it rekeyed.

 

[Nir]

Thanks Terry, I probably will..

I just heard stories about it being problematic so before putting any effort was just wondering if it is even recommended to have a coin laundry(?)

Cheers,
Neil

 

[tadams]

QUOTE (terri @ Mar 10 2008, 09:43 PM) If it doesn`t look tampered with then maybe someone else has a key, why don`t you get it rekeyed.

This is not to say that the lock is indeed being picked however, lockpicking is far easier after a bit of practice than most people realize. It`s very plausible for someone to pick a lock and not leave any indication that it`s been tampered with. Re-keying in that circumstance wouldn`t do any good. Just something to consider.

 

[ds060lm7]

Well worth it.

You can have the coin-op replaced without having to replace the machine. It is very unlikely someone is picking the lock. Someone either has a key or your machines are opertaing without having to put in coins.

Coin-ops machine avoid people tuning on the machine to wash or dry one article of clothing. Generally if you were to replace the machines you will see a return in 24 months.

 

[ChrisDavies]

For the love of all things sacred, go to a card-operated laundry machine. They`re so much easier.

One good tip is to take some nail polish, put it on half a dozen coins and drop them in the machines. See if/where they turn up later. We`ve caught a person or two helping themselves to the laundry money. They`re also easy to break into.

 

[Nir]

Thank you everyone for the valuable information!

Your input helped me understand the situation better and possible solutions.

I purchased new locks, money boxes and keys and will install them after drilling out the locks I did not get keys for from the lawyers(!)

Hopefully, this will resolve the issue. I will consider taking further steps if it doesn`t..

Thanks again, regards,
Neil

 

[terri]

I purchased new locks, money boxes and keys and will install them after drilling out the locks I did not get keys for from the lawyers(!)

Hopefully, this will resolve the issue. I will consider taking further steps if it doesn`t..



Hi Neil,

question, if you didn`t get keys for the machines from the lawyer, how have you been checking them? Have they been unlocked all this time?

 

[Nir]

Hi Terri,

I did not get the keys for the locks. However, I did get a key for the money boxes. The lock locks the cover above the money box. Both have been locked all this time. It is enough to have either a key for the lock or a key for the money box to operate it for free. To be on the safe side, I replaced both today. The lawyer was supposed to provide both keys for each machine but he only received/provided one.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[terri]

good luck, I hope you have no further problems now!



T.

 

[dwb]

QUOTE (ChrisDavies @ Mar 11 2008, 11:51 PM) For the love of all things sacred, go to a card-operated laundry machine. They`re so much easier.

Chirs, I`d love to know where I could by a machine like this... where/who do you buy them from?

The return on investment on card/coin opertated laundy is pretty good and worth it in my opinion.... but does it turn off potential tenants? I don`t want it to be the final factor for someone to not rent from me. My concern with this is that I would be stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. What do you think?

 

[dwb]

QUOTE (dwb @ Mar 16 2008, 10:39 AM) Chirs, I`d love to know where I could by a machine like this... where/who do you buy them from?

Well, I think I can now answer my own question.

Dropped into Home Depot today, went to their appliance section and asked if they have any coin-operated laundry machines. They said no but they can order them from GE and that it takes about 4 days to be delivered directly to my property. Approx cost $850 for washer and about the same for the dryer.

As I thought about it a bit more, multi-family properties are valued based on income... So having extra income generated from coin-operated laundry thus improves not only cashflow but also the property value.

So I think I`m going to order them when my tenant leaves next month. I`m still concerned that I may be stepping over dollars to pick up dimes in that the coin operated laundry might scare off some prospective good tenants... anyone have any thoughts/experience with this?

Thanks!

 

[terri]

QUOTE So I think I`m going to order them when my tenant leaves next month. I`m still concerned that I may be stepping over dollars to pick up dimes in that the coin operated laundry might scare off some prospective good tenants... anyone have any thoughts/experience with this?
I think it really depends on how many suites are accessing the machine and the type of apt/building. If it is just one or two families and it is in a "house" that would typically have a regular washer /dryer, then it may be better to just include it in the rent and increase the rent when the next tenant moves in. Including laundry can generally get you a bit higher rent and a better quality of tenant, so it shouldn`t really effect your overall bottom line.

If the building is a multiunit and would traditionally have coin-op machines then yes it may be worthwhile to change it.

Don`t know if this helps but I think I average about $20/unit from the coin-op machines, so about 2 loads of laundry a week per apt.

T.

 

[David90]

Do you have the key to access the service door on the machines? Open the service door and look if there is a hex shaped rod the bolts to the coin slide. This bolt holds the coin slide in place. If it is not there, the tenants can lift the coin slide out of the machine and use a magnet on a string to fish out the money.

I have a great laundry serviceman in the Edmonton Area. He has developed a system to strengthen the manchines so you can only access or remove the the service covers and coin slides once the coin box has been removed. His name is Mark Smalley of Dufferin Appliance 483-0698.

The coin box keys are pretty hard to come by or reproduce. It`s pretty unlikely that someone has that key.

Good luck,
David Birkholz

 

[RanjitPlaha]

If you need to rent or buy these machines, go to:

http://www.phelpsthecoinlaundrypeople.com/

There are others for sure but thats who I used.
I got a commercial washer and dryer from them. They set it up, maintain it, take the service calls through a 1800#. No headache for me. I did it to make it more comfortable for the tenants of my 3 plex and recover the costs out of the rent that is charged.

Ranjit

 

[jgrover]

QUOTE (dwb @ Mar 16 2008, 09:39 AM) Chirs, I`d love to know where I could by a machine like this... where/who do you buy them from?

The return on investment on card/coin opertated laundy is pretty good and worth it in my opinion.... but does it turn off potential tenants? I don`t want it to be the final factor for someone to not rent from me. My concern with this is that I would be stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. What do you think?

 

[jgrover]

Does it turn off potential tenants..?

Yes, I would say, to some degree.

I bought a 2-unit single family home (suite in basement) with shared, with coin operated laundry already there when purchased. ($1 for wash, $1 for dry)

Potential tenants, especially women who have been shown through literally blanche - you can see their face fall when they see it. They comment that they`ve never seen something like this before. I am guessing that when people are looking for a `non-apartment` experience they want everything to feel more like a `real` home of their own.

I don`t know if it is a deal-breaker for sure, but I almost lost the first set of tenants as a result. I get a strong impression that they are greatly turned off.

Don`t know if this helps.

 

[ChrisDavies]

I`ve gotten the card-operated ones for Edmonton multi-family properties through Coin-o-matic.

 

[Brianrpaul98]

Just wondering what rate per load are people getting on their coin-ops?

Reg,

 

[betrina]

That's my question too. What do you charge per load for the washing machine? And also the dryer?



I am looking at replacing our old machines one at a time. The old washer is fried. The machines are ancient - currently charge $1 for washing and $1 for drying. I'm told that at the local laudromat it costs about $6 total to wash and dry but that the machines are twice the size of our old ones.