Mic1

Thanks, that's another possible option

scrubbedexpat091

My dads washer and dryer is 18 years old and still working and not even a high end brand.

We rent and washer/dryer is included and we just had our washer replaced, only lasted 4 years. The appliance repair person didnt have much good to say about the brand, blomberg. The fridge and freezer of the same brand is nothing but trouble too. I would never reccomend that brand after the experience with them the last 3 years.

My MIL has a 1990s era Sears brand washer and dryer working although they dryer takes 2 hours to dry now but it still works. Lol

I could see why landlords wouldnt want to supply appliances like washer and dryer although Ive never seen a rental without a stove, oven or Fridge those are basics that should be included.

Steerpike

I must say I'm surprised to hear about a rental without a fridge! I presume these are houses or individual condos that you are looking at, and not apartments in 'apartment buildings'. After 30+ years of owning I moved to a rental apartment in 2017 while in 'transition'. That had a (really cheap!) fridge. My g/f and I each purchased a home last year, and both had fridges left behind by the seller, and both had washer / dryers left behind by the sellers. I just measured my fridge and it's 36" wide, 70" tall and about 30" deep. It does seem like fridges have grown in depth over the years; they almost always look 'oversized'. 'White Goods' tend to be fairly inexpensive in the US, but because they are heavy and have moving parts, don't always fare well in moves.

HOAs tend to limit short-term rentals (especially AirBnB types) but don't tend to interfere much with long-term rentals in my experience; they just want to be sure any tenant is aware of their rules/regs.

scrubbedexpat091

As a renter I would expect stove/oven/fridge and would never rent a rental without these 3, they are generally considered standard in rentals and more renters will not own these due to majority of rentals including them.

Mic1

These were all single family homes, all in the same area.

Pulaski

IMO fridges have become a lot more expensive over the past 15 or so years - you used to be able to get an American-style side-by-side fridge for around $1,000-$1,200, whereas these days, the mid-range American-style fridges are usually around $2,000 and it would be quite easy to pay $3k or more for a fairly unremarkable fridge from Lowe's, Home Depot or an electrical store such as Best Buy, i.e. I am not talking about a fancy "custom order" appliance or super-premium brand - you can pay $6k-$8k for a Bosch fitted fridge, and a whole lot more for Viking, Wolf, or Sub-Zero.

Oh, and washing machines have got massively heavy over the same time - I doubt that the washer we bought in 2002 (Maytag front-loader) weighed much more than around 100-120lbs, but the one we bought a couple of years ago (Whirlpool front-loader) weighed around 250lbs!

So yes, IME they are commonly not moved, in part because of the size and weight, and sometimes because a move is used as a justification to buy all new appliances - and then there is a somewhat weird obsession with at least some Americans, in having all their appliances of the same brand.

petitefrancaise

If I have a rental without a refrigerator - not unusual - I would ask the landlord if they would consider providing one, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't but you lose nothing by asking.
Pretty common not to have washer/dryer provided here in Austin in a house.
It tends to be the more expensive rentals/newer houses where everything is provided, if you find that you're not getting these then (and I hesitate to even say this for CA) maybe you need to look at paying a little more rent.

Steerpike

The place I just bought in AZ had an existing washer / dryer. Brand/model is 'Whirlpool Cabrio' (5 cu ft). It looks quite 'premium' for my needs (I just bung in a pile of clothes every week or two, using 'normal' settings), but half the times I use it, it shuts down with an 'OL' fault (overloaded, I believe) - even though it's not at all overloaded. A quick google on that error / brand combo suggests a common problem. So I'm inclined to think that reliability isn't that great on these monsters. I'm also inclined to think the sellers knew about this issue. Unfortunately I did not get a 'home warranty' thrown in when I bought the place so I'm probably going to simply replace it. I may just rip it apart ...

Pulaski

We had a Whirlpool washer fail after only two years, when the main drum bearing failed (one or more of the ball bearings cracked and collapsed). I dismantled the washer and replaced the bearing (The only way to replace the main bearing is to remove the drum, which means removing the top, the front, and the back, by which time about all you have is a pile of washer parts! Then you have to open the plastic drum shell, into it's two halves, and then you use a lump hammer and a cold chisel to whack the bearing out.) with a new bearing kit, not supplied by Whirlpool, as they consider the bearing unrepairable, and wanted to sell me a new $400 drum! It lasted another year with the new bearing, but I gave up after that and replaced it with another Whirlpool washer, which runs just fine after about three years.

BTW IMO extended appliance warranties, and "home warranties", are for mugs, and that washer (above) is the only appliance I have ever had fail within the 5 year extended warranty period, while I have saved enough on all the extended appliance warranties I have not bought, to buy a number of appliances.

ss120396

You can still get a basic full size side by side with ice and water through the door for $1000: https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-25-3-...GHWW/205599118

Difference is these days, everyone wants fancier than that. It has to be stainless steel, it has to have french doors, it has to have two icemakers, one in the freezer one in the fridge, individual digital temperature settings for each drawer, touchscreen with apps on the front, etc.

scrubbedexpat091

And if you go with a normal top freezer/bottom fridge you can get well under 1,000, but your right people always fancy ones and forget about how cheap the basic fridges still are.

$597

$578

ddsrph

All stuff to fail and create expensive maintenance problems. I try to go the other extreme buying the most simple.

Pulaski

You realize that that $1,000 fridge is actually marked down by $400 in some sort of sale or clearance.

If you need a large fridge but are price constrained you can get a scratch and dent one for less - such as from one of Sear's appliance clearance centers.

Steerpike

I've recently inherited two fridges through home purchases; both have icemakers and water dispensers. I turned off the icemaker on day 1 and have hardly ever used it, and don't use the water dispenser! Every now and then I get visitors who want ice in their drinks and I have to apologize! If I can remember, I turn it on a day before I anticipate guests ... There's not much I retain from my 'UK heritage' but a dislike of ice in drinks is one such thing. I do like cold drinks (my fridge is mostly used as a beverage cooler) but putting ice cubes in drinks drives me nuts. When I do turn on the icemaker, the noise it makes scares the sh*t out of me! (the sound of the ice falling inside the machine).

tom169

The one brand since moving here I've decided to stay well clear of, at least for kitchen/laundry is Samsung. Two employers have had Samsung fridges break. And whenever I visit Home Depot or Lowe's they are the brand I see some plastic snapped off.