Should I advertise my property as Furnished, or Un-Furnished?
A few questions for you that should help you make this decision a little easier.
- Do you have any personal connection to the furnishings you are considering leaving?
- Would you be upset if any of the items were destroyed?
- Do you understand and accept that once someone else has lived on your couch for a year it will not smell nor be the same ever again?
If you have ANY sort of a personal connection to an item, it should not stay in your rental property. It will never be the same again, even if it is not destroyed, even if you have a model tenant. Trust me.
Items do get ruined. If you have any sort of care for the items, don’t leave them. Also, if this is an expensive leather chair, if the tenant destroys the item you are only going to receive a small amount of money for the chair based on how old the chair was, its condition etc. You won’t be getting a new chair back to replace it. Consider this when making your decision.
If you have a studio or one bedroom property near a college or area where people are often coming and going and don’t have many items, furnished may make sense and may also help to garner a slightly higher rent.
Some people in these situations are looking for a short- term place that they can just show up at with a suitcase and move on into.
If your property is two or more bedrooms “Furnished” is usually more of a deterrent than a favorable point in your listing. If tenants are looking for more than one bedroom they may have children or a partner and at that point have already invested in their own furniture that they would prefer to use rather than yours.