Furnished vs. Non Furnished

[ltk333]

Hi all,
I own a one bedroom apartment in Cammeray but will be moving states soon for work and looking to rent it out.

I am currently considering whether to rent it out furnished or non-furnished.

My furnishing are nice! as it's the 'stuff' I've been living with, i.e. chrome fridge + kitchenware, 48" LCD, etc. etc.

The previous tenant (prior to my purchase), was paying $350 a week in rent.

I'm looking to answer to questions,
1. Am I making the right move leaving my lovely furniture here?
2. What kind of extra value ($wise) should I be expecting renting out this apartment furnished vs. non-furnished.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[mary&mat]

hi Itk333,

Don't know the area well, but is there any call for furnished ie is there a uni etc nearby?

(I have furnished 1br in Qld 1 km from cbd & furnished has really helped bump up the rent.)

Regards,
M&M

 

[Lil Skater]

I'm looking to answer to questions,
1. Am I making the right move leaving my lovely furniture here?
2. What kind of extra value ($wise) should I be expecting renting out this apartment furnished vs. non-furnished.

Personally, when i was looking to rent i was annoyed by how many one bedroom and similar units were furnished - as i had my own.

Perhaps offer the property as either, either. Say $360 a week unfurnished and $400 or more a week furnished.

Although, if you like your furniture that much - i wouldn't be leaving it behind. Unless you have no plans of taking anything with you/can't take anything with you, then perhaps it is an option as you can also claim depreciation on some of those items, as well.

 

[Propertunity]

1. Am I making the right move leaving my lovely furniture here?

Your second hand furniture is worth diddly squat I'm sorry to say.....and it is very expensive to store. When you come to replace it later, you can get better for less $'s.

2. What kind of extra value ($wise) should I be expecting renting out this apartment furnished vs. non-furnished.

You need to get 2-3 PMs from your local area to come in and give you their opinion on $'s furnished Vs unfurnished as well as likely demand for both.

 

[kathryn d]

Storing furniture is expensive. Moving fees also is very expensive.
We have both types of properties.Have had very few issues.
Use the furniture as a tax deduction. If you plan on renting in the new state consider used furniture or rental furniture.

 

[RumpledElf]

We were going to sell our stuff at a garage sale or something and have decided keeping this house to rent furnished is probably the best option.

We'll be leaving our scruffier, more mismatched furniture though, and there's a lot of out-of-towners here so there should be a market for furnished houses.

I have yet to get quotes for what this house is worth to rent though - it has a HIA order, which complicates things something severe. Loosely 3x what the mortgage is for the house anyway, probably 4x if furnished.

 

[ltk333]

Thanks all,
PM's have mentioned that letting furnished in my area would extend extended letting times by up to 2 months...
Nonetheless, I think it's a easier way to go - may get a couple of opinions.

I suppose insurance is the only other major consideration. Also, I might take my nice Samsung + replace with a nice TEAC

 

[RumpledElf]

We're going to get some top-up furniture from Cheap as Chips for some items we aren't going to leave. Boring stuff like a coffee table and bookshelf. It looks nice, and modern, is cheap, and I suspect it won't last. Linen from the cheaper range at a department store since it is practically disposable between leases - eww @ sleeping on secondhand sheets. I figure if I won't do it, neither will someone else.

BTW Cheap as Chips, Ikea and other cheaper shops also sell very nice prints on canvas. A sparsely furnished house is going to look much better with a few cheery prints on the walls

 

[kathryn d]

We're going to get some top-up furniture from Cheap as Chips for some items we aren't going to leave. Boring stuff like a coffee table and bookshelf. It looks nice, and modern, is cheap, and I suspect it won't last. Linen from the cheaper range at a department store since it is practically disposable between leases - eww @ sleeping on secondhand sheets. I figure if I won't do it, neither will someone else.

BTW Cheap as Chips, Ikea and other cheaper shops also sell very nice prints on canvas. A sparsely furnished house is going to look much better with a few cheery prints on the walls

We buy our sheets from from a hotel supplier.
Cheap and nice.

 

[Gools]

RElf, don't forget Fantastic Furniture. They have great specials on complete packages every now and again and you can fit out a small place for <$3000. That's what I call cheap!!