Furnished vs. Unfurnished Apartment - Docklands

Hi All,

Need some advice with the more experienced out there. I have an apartment due for completion soon. It is a 2br, 1 park place in Docklands, called Lacrosse. It is a fairly high end place.

1) My question as an investor - Is it better for it to be furnished or unfurnished?
Given the location and the potential tenants (young professionals etc.)

2) My thoughts are that furnished may fetch higher rents, but the tenant pool may be smaller. Not sure what your thoughts are. Any idea how much extra a furnished placed would bring?

Would appreciate your input, especially those that are currently investors in Docklands.

Appreciate your comments,

Thanks!
 
not really relevant to your situation but thew perth rental market for funished properties is pretty insane at the moment. due to a number of factors including shortage of hotel rooms the rents for fully furnished new/near new inner city apartments have gone up by close to 50% in one year.

the difference in rent between unfurnished and furnished will actually pay off the entire cost for funiture etc in a year at the moment
 
Thanks for input.

sanj - Good point. but I dont think there is a shortage of hotels much less apartments in Docklands. At least I dont think so.
 
We found it was longer to rent out our furnished place than when it was unfurnished. But tenants who rented all seemed to stay long term. It was a pain however having to replace broken items, e.g. the tv which blew up. But then again, all tax deductable.
 
Unfurnished = bigger pool, less vacancy, less hassle, less maintenance,
The returns are slightly higher overall with furnished but you should consider valuing your time and lets face it, investment properties are supposed to be investments, not jobs.
I would only recommend Southbank, South Yarra, St Kilda Rd and the CBD to my clients that want to furnish their apartments as that is where the bulk of the furnished tenants want to stay.
 
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Depending on which part of Docklands, you could get another $80-120 per week in rent (for a 1 year lease on a standard 2BR). Our fully furnished is in Flinders Wharf and we're happy with the decision (but have been lucky with good tenants). There are quite a few fully furnished apartments in the building on 1 year leases. Most agents will still advice going unfurnished, but to do a risk/ reward, it's worth speaking to the local agents who are currently leasing a lot of furnished units (ask them how many furnished ones they currently have) and they can give you a better idea exactly how much more you'll be getting in the current market.
 
Sanj, since you are in Perth, - is it worth furnishing IP in Bentley near Curtin University for student tenants, or is it better to leave it unfurnished and rent them out to coupes with no children? This is a 16 year old 3x2 IP.
 
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