RikaKazak Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 So for those who don't know, I originally made my money playing online poker, and with that money I bought rental properties. Some of those rentals are the typical 8ish unit properties with a laundry room on site that's coin operated. Right now the deal I have with the company that puts the washer/dryers in, is they handle all repairs/money collecting/everything, and in exchange I get 50% of the revenue. Since I've gotten into vending, I feel like I'm leaving money on the table by not having my own washer/dryers and just collecting 100% of the revenue. So I'm thinking about doing it. Thing is, I'm not sure what's the best way of doing it, and curious if any vendiscuss members do washer/dryers? I'm just lost on how much money I can/should be getting. Right now, a typical 8 unit building I'm getting on average $26.20 per month. With $1.25 wash and $1.25 dry. That just seems VERY LOW to me. Do you think that sounds right? Think they might be stealing from me? Would really love some input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandJGroup Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I had a really good friend ( who is since past on) that was in the laundry biz for 50 plus years. He was a big timer when it came to the coin laundry biz. I took a lot of mental notes from him. Later on his life he would set up washer and dryers in apt buildings and cheap motels. He made A LOT of money doing this with the 50/50 split your getting now. 26 bucks seems really low. Would think your losing money with power and water bill in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikaKazak Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 I had a really good friend ( who is since past on) that was in the laundry biz for 50 plus years. He was a big timer when it came to the coin laundry biz. I took a lot of mental notes from him. Later on his life he would set up washer and dryers in apt buildings and cheap motels. He made A LOT of money doing this with the 50/50 split your getting now. 26 bucks seems really low. Would think your losing money with power and water bill in there. Overall I am losing money (with the cost of the security lighting + hot water heater + baseboard heaters for the room + higher water bill). I do it mostly to be able to advertise "on site laundry" since that's a HUGE PLUS in these particular neighborhoods. I just feel like letting others take 50% (or even more if he is ripping me off) is leaving a lot of money on the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Are there any laundromats nearby? Are the majority of your tenants very young? There are two things that you could be facing: competition from local laundromats, and tenants who go to parents' or friends' houses to do laundry. I managaed a laundromat part time when I was in college (about 12 years ago now) and competition can be pretty intense between laundromats. And I imagine that it is even more pronounced for a small operator running a couple of top loader washers and small dryers in an apartment building. When the local laundromat has large capacity front loader washers and dryers that can do all of a person's laundry in one load, they probably won't use the little machines in the apartment building where they'll need to run two or three loads and spend more money. Consumers are much more value oriented today. Do everything you can to minimize expense. If you can, switch your hot water source for the machines to a tankless system. Set the thermostat for the baseboard heaters as low as you think the tenants will tolerate. Install hot water recirculating systems to minimize the amount of water the machines need to run in order to achieve proper temperature (will also make your customers happier). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adog Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 My parents oven a few properties with coin operated machines and I can tell you that seems very low for an 8 plex. Like Land J Mentioned I would think you would be making little to none after paying the utilities bills with you 25 bucks or so. Go to Sears or whatever you guys have around you and go buy some. You'll probably recuperate your money in 5-6 months if not faster. I think ours average about 100-300 a month depending on how many units, and whether there is another laundry mat location nearby. So far it seems people love the convenience so we get a lot of business through that way, However with the positives are negatives. Yes once you have them set up they are easy money. Just collect it. However I can tell you we have had numerous breaks in in which includes power tools taking off the whole coin mech system and costing a few 100 in repairs if not totaled the machine. As long as there not getting vandalize or buy some crappy units that constantly breakdown you should be making nice profits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikaKazak Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. Most of my tenants are older (I'd say 75% are in their 40's or older). And the other chunk consists of a lot of single moms with kids that get 100% of their rent/everything paid for by the government. There are laundromats that are maybe 5-15 blocks away. So they're "sort of" close, but at least half my tenants don't own a car so for them I would consider it a very far ways away. The more I read and google and check out landlord forums, the more I'm convinced they're stealing from me. I am going to get my own and put them in, I'll share what I find out. I have detailed records from 7+ years on some places, so if I get a "sudden spike" once I put in my own machines, I'll know what was really happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. Most of my tenants are older (I'd say 75% are in their 40's or older). And the other chunk consists of a lot of single moms with kids that get 100% of their rent/everything paid for by the government. There are laundromats that are maybe 5-15 blocks away. So they're "sort of" close, but at least half my tenants don't own a car so for them I would consider it a very far ways away. The more I read and google and check out landlord forums, the more I'm convinced they're stealing from me. I am going to get my own and put them in, I'll share what I find out. I have detailed records from 7+ years on some places, so if I get a "sudden spike" once I put in my own machines, I'll know what was really happening. You'll be better off having your own equipment, anyway. It's much easier to control and monitor costs and revenue. You'll also have more confidence that maintenance activities are being performed properly, since you'll be doing them yourself. If your buildings have secured entrances, the chances of major vandalism and theft are pretty small. I'm not sure what's out there these days for small commercial machines with coin mechanisms, but got for top loader washers. In the environment your machines will be in, a top loader washer will be much more reliable than a front loader, especially if there are kids around. Kids love to hang on the doors of front loaders and bend or bust them. Plus you have to worry about seals in the doors going bad on front loaders, not so with top loaders. Front loaders tend to have more bells and whistles and costly electronics to deal with than top loaders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikaKazak Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 You'll be better off having your own equipment, anyway. It's much easier to control and monitor costs and revenue. You'll also have more confidence that maintenance activities are being performed properly, since you'll be doing them yourself. If your buildings have secured entrances, the chances of major vandalism and theft are pretty small. I'm not sure what's out there these days for small commercial machines with coin mechanisms, but got for top loader washers. In the environment your machines will be in, a top loader washer will be much more reliable than a front loader, especially if there are kids around. Kids love to hang on the doors of front loaders and bend or bust them. Plus you have to worry about seals in the doors going bad on front loaders, not so with top loaders. Front loaders tend to have more bells and whistles and costly electronics to deal with than top loaders. Thank you SO much for this post man. Posts like this is exactly why I even started this thread on vendiscuss. If you have anymore input/tips/advice I would LOVE to hear it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendingsolutions Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 make your money playing poker online? is that possible? please tell me !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikaKazak Posted September 20, 2013 Author Share Posted September 20, 2013 make your money playing poker online? is that possible? please tell me !!! Maybe in the another thread And yes it's possible. Been doing it for over 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Maybe in the another thread And yes it's possible. Been doing it for over 10 years. That's a conversation that is best held in private, not a public forum.... for all kinds of reasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikaKazak Posted September 21, 2013 Author Share Posted September 21, 2013 That's a conversation that is best held in private, not a public forum.... for all kinds of reasons I've been very open/public about me and online poker. I pay my taxes, and it's legal in the state I live in (Idaho). You can google RikaKazak and my real name and everything will pop up. (it's Jared Bartlett if you care that much, lol) I've written articles for Equity magazine and cardplayer magazine. (equity is the largest poker magazine in Russia, cardplayer is the largest poker magazine in America) I'm sponsored by leggopoker, where I make instructional videos about playing online and live poker. I've got no problem talking about it. I just didn't want to derail my coin op washer/dryer thread into an online poker thread (which I think I just failed in doing, lol). Now, back to coin op washer and dryers. I found 10 sets of used coin op kenmore washer and dryers. The guy restores/cleans them after he buys them used. He's asking $600 per pair, so only $300 a piece. I just took a look at one today and he fixes/cleans them up very nicely. I think I'm going to call him tomorrow and buy 4 sets. Hopefully I can talk him down from the $2,400 it'll cost, but even if I can't, still a great deal. They were all made in 2011, and were sold to him by a huge apartment building in Portland Oregon that was completely redone and had new "energy efficient" machines put in...so it's not like they were sold off cause they're bad...plus since they're all the same year/make/model I can always turn one set into parts machines if need be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikaKazak Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 I just installed 4 sets of washer/dryers yesterday. There was a slight hiccup with 1 of them, but I think I got it fixed/sorted out (that happens when you pay $300 for a kenmore coin op washer I guess instead of the $1Kish they are new) lol. Can't wait to see what kind of money they "truly" do (as I'm the only one with the key) But man o man am I sore today from moving all 8 of them by myself!!! I need to get into better shape LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 2 year old Kenmores should be a great buy for $300. If they've been refurbished properly, you'll probably see many years of use from them. They're pretty simple machines, so you should be able to do your own repairs and maintenance 90% of the time. For $300, I'd just replace a unit if you encountered something you couldn't fix on your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 I've been very open/public about me and online poker. I pay my taxes, and it's legal in the state I live in (Idaho). You can google RikaKazak and my real name and everything will pop up. (it's Jared Bartlett if you care that much, lol) I've written articles for Equity magazine and cardplayer magazine. (equity is the largest poker magazine in Russia, cardplayer is the largest poker magazine in America) I'm sponsored by leggopoker, where I make instructional videos about playing online and live poker. I've got no problem talking about it. I just didn't want to derail my coin op washer/dryer thread into an online poker thread (which I think I just failed in doing, lol). Now, back to coin op washer and dryers. I found 10 sets of used coin op kenmore washer and dryers. The guy restores/cleans them after he buys them used. He's asking $600 per pair, so only $300 a piece. I just took a look at one today and he fixes/cleans them up very nicely. I think I'm going to call him tomorrow and buy 4 sets. Hopefully I can talk him down from the $2,400 it'll cost, but even if I can't, still a great deal. They were all made in 2011, and were sold to him by a huge apartment building in Portland Oregon that was completely redone and had new "energy efficient" machines put in...so it's not like they were sold off cause they're bad...plus since they're all the same year/make/model I can always turn one set into parts machines if need be. I like casino player but it's hard to find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tafelice Posted October 9, 2013 Share Posted October 9, 2013 Good luck with the machines. But I would have done a survey of my eight tenants asking questions about various things, maybe even things you'd be really interested to know. And in that survey I'd ask, "Do you use the laundry room?", "How often do you use it?", "How many loads do you do each time?" "Do you use the dryer?", "How long does it take to dry all your clothes?" A little math and you may not find out exactly how much you should be making but you'll know for sure if they are stealing from you. Couple of hours of your time, ten cents worth of paper, good PR with the tenants, and you'd probably save some money on some gem you'd pick up from the surveys. Sounds like a better deal than a $2400 fishing expedition. You might have learned you only need 3 sets or 2 sets. I did the math and $26 to you means 42 cycles per month or 21 wash/dries combos. If 5 tenants are using the machines (you indicate that might be high) then that's 4 single loads a month per tenant with one person doing 2 loads. If 4 tenants are using then it's 5.25 loads a month. If they are stealing from you I don't think they are stealing much. If that was the case it would be better to find a way to monitor usage and make them accountable. If they are not stealing from you you're looking at a 7 1/2 year payback on refurbished machines. You may end up working for the washer/dryer refurb guy. Good luck and I sincerely hope you post back that you are now making a hundred a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikaKazak Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Well, I did my first collection today. By their math, I should of picked up ~$58.50. I ACTUALLY picked up $172.75. Those little pieces of trash have been stealing from me for the past 7 years. I'm so pissed right now, I'm not sure what to do. Has anyone else been in this situation? Should I sue? (called my lawyer that I use for evictions, left a message, he's in court right now) Should I complain to the BBB? Should I call every landlord I know that uses them and let them know? (they advertise in the land lord association, of which I'm a part of and has over 400 members) I mean, we all know there's fluctuations in vending. I have 8 vending machines, I know it's not always the same. But over the past 7 years, it's fluctuated, but NEVER more then 10-20%. This month we had NO change in rentals. The EXACT SAME tenants that were in last month, are in this month. And it went up by 300%!!!!! I'm pissed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikaKazak Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Just figured out around how much they've stolen. About $10,800ish. ARGGHHHH!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Just figured out around how much they've stolen. About $10,800ish. ARGGHHHH!!!! Take heart in the fact that you've solved your problem and will be making all the profits yourself from now on. This kind of stuff really pisses me off but I've learned (sometimes the hard way) that it's better to just let some things slide. This scum bag has already cooked his golden goose but it would be hard to absolutely prove he's been shorting you all this time. You don't want to get yourself in a libel situation here but should someone in your group ask you for an opinion on these guys you have every right to give it. You've got the mechanical skills to work on vending machines so there's no way you can't repair washers and dryers and the next time you go to service your machines and collect YOUR money - think of this as a blessing in disguise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 You just installed new machines. That might account for the increased usage. People like new stuff, even if you picked them up second hand; they're new to the tenants. I've seen some pretty big increases in my bulk vending locations by installing new machines sometimes. Might the service company have been stealing from you? Very possible; but I wouldn't take it to court. You'd have a really hard time proving it in court. Unless you have access to their financial records and high resolution video of their collections from your machines, there's no way for you to know how much they were collecting out of your machines. Enjoy your new machines and the added income and be glad you eliminated a costly service provider from your business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tafelice Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 @me .... mea culpa I'm glad you did the right thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaWCT Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Congrats on taking matters into your own hands. I am very sorry for the discovery of being taken advantage of. I am curious what machines you put in? new? used? I am looking at doing this and am researching. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allprovending Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 50/50 split is to much.....Try 70/30 but no more then 60/40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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