renting out apartment as furnished

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by CraigJ23, 15th Aug, 2021.

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  1. CraigJ23

    CraigJ23 Well-Known Member

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    If in the future I wanted to move interstate and put my mortgaged apartment up for rental as a furnished property, would I need to remove things in the kitchen like cutlery, crockery, pots/pans, coffee machine?

    I'm assuming that all clothes and linen would have to be removed. What commonly would remain in the apartment for a furnished rental? Is this up to the landlord in each case?

    I'm wondering whether it is worth emptying the apartment totally and putting it all into storage so that the apartment can be rented unfurnished - seems like this might be easier...
     
  2. Mel Morgan

    Mel Morgan Sydney Property Manager Business Member

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    It depends on your situation and goals, if you were planning to come back in the short/medium term and have nice furniture, then I would take/dispose/store all personal belongings (no one would want to rent an apartment with your clothes in it lol) and you can consider renting it out furnished including kitchen items (but expect some to go missing).

    If you were away long term, its definitely easier renting unfurnished, that way you don't have to worry about replacing items that break, inventory, shorter-term tenants. In some locations you could get higher rents for furnished properties but currently that demand is very low due to limited tourists and relocations.
     
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  3. balwoges

    balwoges Well-Known Member

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    Yes, no complications is best ... :D
     
  4. MB18

    MB18 Well-Known Member

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    Anticipate that a tenant renting a furnished apartment will be arriving with two suitcases of clothes and expect everything else to be in place.

    Furnished obviously attracts a slight premium, but the potential tenant pool will be much smaller, and probably short term minded if thats of any concern.

    I dont know what the latest is on storage costs, but probably cheaper to sell than store unless you have particularly expensive furnishings - in which case you probably won't want to rent furnished anyway.
     
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  5. Tom Rivera

    Tom Rivera Property Manager Business Member

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    It's worth mentioning that the demand for furnished properties is VERY specific to a type and location of property- generally tourist destinations and close to the inner city or some other sort of hub.
     
  6. skater

    skater Well-Known Member

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    If it's in a tourist area, you could use AirBnB. Basically just remove any personal items and lease it 'as is'. This might be a risky thing to do in the current climate. If it's not in a tourist area, or you didn't want to do AirBnB, you'd remove all personal items, linen and other items, but as others have said, there's limited demand, and it would depend on the type of property. For instance maybe a small unit would be attractive for someone just moving out of home, and could have reasonable demand, while a large 4 bed home would have less demand.

    Finally, if you are moving, and decide to rent unfurnished, either take the furniture with you, or sell it. The costs of putting in storage are probably not worth it unless you are planning on moving back again soon. Besides, you'll need furniture in your new home.
     
  7. CraigJ23

    CraigJ23 Well-Known Member

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    I would likely move in with my parents if I moved, so I wouldn't need anything. I think the storage costs are $50 per week and my unit would fetch $500 per week rental. My mortgage repayments are $310 per week.
     
  8. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    Point is, furnishing it isnt a positive for most rentals.
     
  9. skater

    skater Well-Known Member

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    Yes, buy for how long would you be paying storage costs for? How much is the furniture worth?
     
  10. CraigJ23

    CraigJ23 Well-Known Member

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    It would be for 12 months. It's possible I could lose my job for 12 months, but then be re-hired after that due to the nature of the job.

    The furniture would cost about $2000 to replace new. The dining table and chairs does have some sentimental value because it's a family heirloom.

    I'm thinking that it makes sense to store for 12 months. After that I would sell the items and cancel the storage.
     
  11. skater

    skater Well-Known Member

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    $50 per week multiplied by 52 weeks = $2600
    Just how much sentimental value does the dining table have? Can you take it with you, because you are paying more to store the stuff than to replace it.
     
  12. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I'd store the dining table and chairs somewhere (friend, parents) and sell the rest.