Eight months ago, my business partner Jack and I bought a dilapidated commercial building in Long Beach. Rusted-out equipment. Gone plumbing. The whole thing needed to be gutted and rebuilt from scratch.
We’ve poured our blood, sweat, and tears into this place. Dug out all the cement and repoured it. New plumbing. New electrical. New HVAC. 28 washers. 30 dryers. A complete, ground-up, brand-new laundromat (you can see the backstory of how we acquired this laundromat here).
We’re days away from opening. And now Jack wants to sell it.
I want to keep it and operate it. He wants to cash out and redeploy. So what should we do? This is the real, unfiltered debate we’re having right now — and I want to bring you inside it because there’s a lot to learn here about how to think about business, real estate, and opportunity cost.
The Numbers
Let’s get the finances on the table so you can follow along:
- Building purchase price: $450,000 (dilapidated commercial building)
- Full infrastructure rebuild: ~$320,000 (plumbing, electrical, concrete, HVAC)
- Machines (financed): ~$430,000
- Total all-in: ~$1.25 million
- Estimated sale price: ~$2.2 million
- Potential profit in 8 months: ~$1 million
That’s not bad for eight months of work. That’s life-changing money.
The Projected Cash Flow If We Operate
Here’s what we’re walking away from if we sell. I asked vendors who service multiple laundromats around Long Beach to give me realistic numbers based on our square footage, our equipment, and the demographics of our location.
- Conservative gross monthly revenue: ~$22,000/month (self-service + fluff and fold combined)
- Aggressive gross: $38,000–$40,000/month
- Industry-standard net: roughly one-third of gross stays as profit
So if we hit a solid $30,000 gross month, we’d be looking at roughly $10,000/month in passive income — plus we’re the landlords of the real estate, so we’re also paying ourselves a lease fee.
Is it truly “passive”? No. You’re going to take calls. Things break. Employees come and go. But it’s a real cash flow play, and the business has a growth ceiling we control.
Jack’s Case: Sell It
Here’s Jack’s argument, and honestly, it’s strong:
1. “Passive” is a lie. Instagram influencers love to say laundromats are passive income — work two hours a week, sleep in, live the dream. Jack owns multiple operating businesses himself, and we’ve both met with actual laundromat owners. The reality is nothing like the pitch. These businesses are intense.
2. We already have demanding day jobs. We’re both full-time real estate brokers. Our real estate careers are going well. Adding a retail operation on top is going to pull focus.
3. Redeploy the equity into what we know. Why sit on this when we could pull the $1M profit, 1031 exchange it, and buy a 30-unit multifamily building? Or a bigger laundromat with better economics? We know how to own and operate apartments. We don’t (yet) know how to run a laundromat.
That last point is the one that really sticks with me. The best investors deploy capital into what they’re best at.
My Case: Operate It
Here’s where I’m torn. When we first closed on the building — that very first week — Jack actually floated the idea of flipping it without doing the remodel. We could have made a profit just on the land and the bones of the building.
I said no. And I’ll tell you why: I knew I’d regret it. Regret that I never operated it. Regret that I never tried. Regret that maybe this was a calling I walked away from.
Now we’re at the finish line. The building is beautiful. The machines are installed. We know what we’re capable of because we just built it. And the math says cash flow from a laundromat with a real estate component is likely going to beat cash flow from a comparable apartment building.
That matters to me. That’s the entrepreneur in me talking.
What Most People Get Wrong About Laundromats
Here’s something critical that I want every investor reading this to understand.
When you look at “laundromats for sale” online, you’re almost always looking at only one piece of the puzzle — the business. You’re buying the equipment, the customer base, and the name. You’re not the owner of the building. You’re a tenant. Which means every month you’re writing a rent check to a landlord.
Our situation is different. We own two things:
- The real estate — the commercial building itself
- The business — the laundromat operation
When we found a laundromat with the real estate attached, it was tough. Very rare. That’s a big reason our $2.2M number isn’t crazy — we’re selling something most buyers can’t find.
The “Boring Business” Myth
There’s an entire corner of social media right now telling you to buy “boring businesses” — laundromats, car washes, self-storage — quit your corporate job, and retire early.
Let me call that out.
There’s nothing boring about this. Every business has overhead, expenses, income, employees, sales, marketing, and customer service. How is that boring? Why would you ever call this boring?
Maybe the influencers mean “unsexy.” Fine. But “boring” implies low-effort, and that’s the part that’s misleading. Every business is a business. Respect it or it’ll humble you.
The Current Bottleneck
One honest note on timing: for the last month and a half, we’ve been stuck pulling additional permits the city told us we were missing. We had pulled permits — just not all of them. Classic Long Beach construction experience. Not the end of the world. You roll with the punches.
The building is ready. We just need the city’s final sign-off to open.
Today We’re Running a Test
Here’s where it gets interesting. Jack had a great idea — there are Facebook groups dedicated to laundromat ownership. He posted an ad saying we just completed a full remodel on a Long Beach laundromat and we’re open to offers. We included a vetting questionnaire because we didn’t want a parade of tire-kickers.
Eight buyers are coming through today. They know the $2.2M asking price. Nobody told us we’re crazy. Nobody pushed back on the number. We interviewed laundromat brokers, pulled comps, and priced it based on both real estate and business value.
Today is effectively our open house. By the end of the day, we’ll know if the market agrees with our number.
The Exit Plan Either Way
If we do sell, I want to be clear: we’re not blowing the proceeds on fancy cars and watches. We’re doing a 1031 exchange into an apartment building — the one product Jack and I both know how to own and operate at a high level.
That’s the key principle here, and it’s the same principle I preach to my multifamily clients all the time:
Use tax-advantaged strategies to move up into bigger, better income-producing assets. Don’t cash out — trade up.
Whether it’s a laundromat into a 30-unit, a fourplex into a 10-unit, or a single-family rental into a triplex, the mechanics are the same. You protect your gains from taxes and you compound into a bigger position.
So What Should We Do?
I’m genuinely torn.
Team Juan: Keep it. Operate it. Cash flow it. Live with the regret of never trying it if we sell.
Team Jack: Sell it. Take the $1M profit. 1031 into a 30-unit apartment building. Stay in our lane.
Both are right answers. Both have trade-offs. And the truth is, this is the exact kind of decision investors face constantly — do I optimize for the money or for the experience? Do I double down on what I know, or do I build a new skill set?
Here’s Where I Need Your Help
If you were in our shoes, what would you do?
- Team Juan — operate and build the laundromat business?
- Team Jack — sell and redeploy into multifamily?
And if you’re a multifamily investor, a landlord, or an entrepreneur trying to figure out your own “do I sell or hold?” decision — this is exactly the kind of stuff I help clients work through every day. Whether it’s a fourplex, a 10-unit, or a commercial property, the framework is the same.
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