Would You Rent An Apartment Without A Kitchen?

[IMBY]

I was just reading an article in the most recent The Economist on the proliferation of online food/eateries. In the article, in China, it was reported that a number of Milennial Chinese have no use for a kitchen, they order all their food online, and would rent an apartment without a kitchen. Just a refrigerator and Microwave.

Yes, I've know a number of people who so hate to cook, they've never used their stove.

So, perhaps the day is coming when apartment buildings will offer kitchen-free apartments and those with kitchens? And won't that also reduce the cost of construction?

[photoLith]

If I could save a ton of money on rent than yes, all I need is a microwave and a plug in electric stove, which exists. Guess I could buy a mini fridge as well.

[Crawford]

I'd say a very high % of NYC apartments have minimal kitchens.

I had no need for a kitchen for about 10 years. Didn't cook an in-apartment meal once.

[eschaton]

After I was out of college I initially cooked maybe twice a week. Usually if I was by myself I'd just cook poor-man's stir fry for myself. If I had a guest over (a friend or a date) I might want to fix a meal for them. I could have gotten by with a hot plate though (I did get by without one when I was doing a kitchen renovation in my late 20s), because I don't think I cracked the oven itself open once for years.

[the urban politician]

As a landlord I would love to have kitchen free apartments. Less broken appliances that I have to fix.

If we really want to create affordable rentals in our cities then we should move away from hare-brained and punitive property-takings like Rent Control and get more creative.

Have tenants provide their own appliances and maintain them. Hell, probably one of the biggest expenses I have right now is appliance repair/replacement. Appliances these days are built so cheaply in overseas slave labor markets that you’re lucky if they last 5 years without giving you problems.

[10023]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Have tenants provide their own appliances and maintain them. Hell, probably one of the biggest expenses I have right now is appliance repair/replacement. Appliances these days are built so cheaply in overseas slave labor markets that you’re lucky if they last 5 years without giving you problems.

That is how it works in Japan and many European markets. You take your appliances with you when you move, even as a renter.

[Engineerding]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

As a landlord I would love to have kitchen free apartments. Less broken appliances that I have to fix.

If we really want to create affordable rentals in our cities then we should move away from hare-brained and punitive property-takings like Rent Control and get more creative.

Have tenants provide their own appliances and maintain them. Hell, probably one of the biggest expenses I have right now is appliance repair/replacement. Appliances these days are built so cheaply in overseas slave labor markets that you’re lucky if they last 5 years without giving you problems.

And you would pass those saving right to your tenants.

Right?

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by Engineerding

And you would pass those saving right to your tenants.

Right?

As far as I can tell he wouldn't have a choice. That's how the market works. One unit with a full kitchen vs one without. How could he charge the same with all else the same consideration?

Like, how?

Theres a mindset out there that corporations and people who "control the means of production"(eh) have all the control. In reality, there is some truth to that but more so consumers usually have more say in what we get. Businesses fall because they don't meet customer demands(Sears, Kmart, ToysRus) and others gain because they offer what people want(Uber, Amazon, Walmart). Same with an apartment. Sure, there are forces beyond what customers can demand, but there isn't some overlord controlling rent. My dad's rental sat empty for nearly 4 months. So guess what he did? Instead of losing money every month he lowered the rent from 1,800 to 1,600(or 1600 something, I forget the exact amount). He rented it out within two weeks. If I am looking at for an apartment in say a city of 2 million people, how many options do I have? Thousands. I have a choice. I don't think thousands of landlords and developers are meeting secretly and agreeing to a monopolistic pricing system.

[Engineerding]

Didn’t toysrus fail due to some financial games, played by the owners?


Yes. Yes it did.


And apartments going empty, isn’t it better to have it empty, deducting those losses on your taxes, than lowering the rent, which lowers its value, possibly putting you in trouble with your loan on it?

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by Engineerding

Didn’t toysrus fail due to some financial games, played by the owners?


Yes. Yes it did.


And apartments going empty, isn’t it better to have it empty, deducting those losses on your taxes, than lowering the rent, which lowers its value, possibly putting you in trouble with your loan on it?

I don't think deducting loses on one of your two rentals with my dads income would make sense. 1,800 a month is a lot to lose. Period.

[The North One]

no

[iheartthed]

This is not unusual in Manhattan.

^^ gonna second the "no".

[SIGSEGV]

These certainly exist in Boston (or places with just a hot plate). Plenty of people could survive with just a microwave and fridge though.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

These certainly exist in Boston (or places with just a hot plate). Plenty of people could survive with just a microwave and fridge though.

Keyword being 'survive' here. It's not a type of place most people would want to live for more than a year or two.

[10023]

Absolutely not.

And the kitchen is the first thing I will re-do and expand in any property I buy.

[EastSideHBG]

I love to cook and eat out only 1-2 times per week (if that) so no. My current kitchen is very small and on many days I wish for something bigger, even if just a tad.

[llamaorama]

This would be a public health and social disaster. Poor people spending all their money on unhealthy fast food because they can’t cook at home. Just NO. We need to encourage cooking at home as a way of combatting obesity and getting people to save money.

[10023]

Originally Posted by llamaorama

This would be a public health and social disaster. Poor people spending all their money on unhealthy fast food because they can’t cook at home. Just NO. We need to encourage cooking at home as a way of combatting obesity and getting people to save money.

This.

[IMBY]

Originally Posted by llamaorama

This would be a public health and social disaster. Poor people spending all their money on unhealthy fast food because they can’t cook at home. Just NO. We need to encourage cooking at home as a way of combatting obesity and getting people to save money.

I love to cook, try out new recipes, but I could make do with a Slow Cooker, microwave and a refrigerator.

I once worked with a Secretary (who I deem very Anal) who bought a new house and hadn't used the stove or oven for the 3 years she had it. She said she hated cleaning up messes, so no cooking.