Furnished or unfurnished rooms

[epoh]

Hi all landlords,

I'm planning to rent out rooms in my house, and was wondering if it's better to rent them furnished or unfurnished? Which would be in higher demand?

[mattinvestor]

It depends to who you are planning to target it to. If you would like to rent rooms to long-term tenants, it would be better to have them unfurnished so your tenants could decorate rooms the way they wanted to. On the other hand, if you plan to have short-term leases, furnished rooms would be a better option.

[td91]

As the above poster says it depends on who you are wanting to rent the room to.

If you're wanting a young uni student who may be just out of their parents place then furniture might be the way to go. But if you want to attract maybe someone late 20's or something similar then I'd suggest unfurnished as they may already own their own furniture.

I say offer it with the option of being furnished or unfurnished.

[flyernzl]

Furnished will entail you in higher costs (expect the furniture to last at best two tenancies before needing replacement) and much much more hands-on property management time as things break, stick or fall apart.

[TheLiberalLeft]

Stick, or sticky? The latter would concern me more.

[waterbaby]

Though bear in mind if you are letting rooms unfurnished, you will have to deal with people moving their own furniture through your otherwise furnished house. Might be worthwhile considering the inconvenience factor and also the layout of the existing furniture / house and the potential for damage to that when people are moving beds etc throughout. I have lived in some open places where that would be no issue but also some places with really awkward angles / corners where moving furniture through every few months / every year etc would be enough to drive you to drink.

[epoh]

Though bear in mind if you are letting rooms unfurnished, you will have to deal with people moving their own furniture through your otherwise furnished house. Might be worthwhile considering the inconvenience factor and also the layout of the existing furniture / house and the potential for damage to that when people are moving beds etc throughout. I have lived in some open places where that would be no issue but also some places with really awkward angles / corners where moving furniture through every few months / every year etc would be enough to drive you to drink.

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice provided above! I guess i'll just offer them with the option of furnished/unfurnished. Will probably increase the rental if they do want it furnished.

[jimO]

i would rather poke forks in my eyes than have strangers living in my house with me

[roger.g]

recommend not to rent a place fully furnished. The main reason is as discussed above – if you provide the furniture in the lease then the expectation is that you will maintain it. So if the washing machine breaks down, you're up for repairs or a new one. Also, tenants can be very hard on furniture. It's just human nature to care for your own things better than you would something that doesn't belong to you.
Fully furnished properties tend to appeal to certain tenants. Students, young people just moving out of home, people who have recently moved to the country or the area and want to rent fully furnished while they look for something more permanent, partner from a broken marriage, someone building a new home, short term renters. Most renters with a certain amount of stability tend to have their own stuff and want space to put that stuff.
I have had landlords who can't be bothered moving certain items out of a home. In that case I don't include the items in the rent price, I usually put a clause in "The (eg) BBQ is not included in the lease. It may be used by the tenant but no warranty is made as to its condition and no repairs will be undertaken". Or something like that. On the flip side, the landlord has no protection for that item. I would usually use that sort of clause if the item was going to be sent to the tip if it wasn't left there. Stuff like BBQs, outdoor fridges, outdoor table setting, old microwave etc. Some tenants appreciate being able to use this stuff for free. Often, if a tenant is leaving and would like to take this sort of stuff with them we let them because it saves the hassle!
As an aside, curtains aren't usually considered to be furniture.

[epoh]

recommend not to rent a place fully furnished. The main reason is as discussed above – if you provide the furniture in the lease then the expectation is that you will maintain it. So if the washing machine breaks down, you're up for repairs or a new one. Also, tenants can be very hard on furniture. It's just human nature to care for your own things better than you would something that doesn't belong to you.
Fully furnished properties tend to appeal to certain tenants. Students, young people just moving out of home, people who have recently moved to the country or the area and want to rent fully furnished while they look for something more permanent, partner from a broken marriage, someone building a new home, short term renters. Most renters with a certain amount of stability tend to have their own stuff and want space to put that stuff.
I have had landlords who can't be bothered moving certain items out of a home. In that case I don't include the items in the rent price, I usually put a clause in "The (eg) BBQ is not included in the lease. It may be used by the tenant but no warranty is made as to its condition and no repairs will be undertaken". Or something like that. On the flip side, the landlord has no protection for that item. I would usually use that sort of clause if the item was going to be sent to the tip if it wasn't left there. Stuff like BBQs, outdoor fridges, outdoor table setting, old microwave etc. Some tenants appreciate being able to use this stuff for free. Often, if a tenant is leaving and would like to take this sort of stuff with them we let them because it saves the hassle!
As an aside, curtains aren't usually considered to be furniture.

Thanks for the advice!! I'll rent it out unfurnished then, seems like the safer route to go.

[Samuel]

If you are renting out an entire house, in my experience unfurnished is easier. But, for individual rooms, I think people appreciate a bed and a desk. In my case my primary market is students, so they don't have much furniture of their own.

Ultimately I want my tenants to have a good environment. However, I try not to invest too much into furniture to minimise overhead costs. If it looks nice it will be easier to rent out, which is a bonus.

I found one way to get cheap and reasonable quality furniture is to buy second hand on TradeMe. Desks - tables, chairs, beds, etc are very easy to find.

Best of luck.