Mark Roemer image of the pros and cons of renting a furnished apartment

Is Renting a Furnished Apartment Worth It?

If you are new to the rental market, you might find some of the statements in the advertisements a little confusing. One of which is “furnished apartment.” You might be wondering what that entails and if it is worth renting over its unfurnished counterpart. I, Mark Roemer, am going to provide you with an in-depth look at furnished apartments. Hopefully, this will help you to determine if they are right for you.

First Apartment

 Is this your first apartment? Then chances are, it might be easier to go with a furnished as opposed to an unfurnished apartment. The reason is that you will be provided with many of the things you would have to buy if you were to rent an unfurnished apartment. Some of the elements include a bed, a stove, a refrigerator, a couch, a television, and a kitchen table and chairs. All of these items can be a lot of money to someone just starting out. On the other hand, when you choose a furnished apartment, you will get most of these supplied to you.

When you are just starting out in life, buying all of the above-listed items may prevent you from moving out of your parents’ house anytime soon. To do that, you will likely have to take on a roommate. Unless you know the person, this can be hit or miss. You will find more horror stories about roommates than you will success stories. Granted, most of these originate in college towns between college roommates, but they do happen.

For all of the above reasons, I would urge you to consider renting a furnished apartment as your starter home. You will find the experience a lot better than the alternatives.

Transitional Phase

Though it is not a pleasant thought, some people transition out of relationships from time to time. During this time, you may not be in possession of things that you may have once had access too. Alternately, you may have just had a fire in your home. Yes, this is another thing that is hard to talk about and impossible to imagine. In either case, you are going to need specific amenities in life.

As I explained above, you will have access to all the things that made your home comfortable. While it may not be your stuff, you will have the ability to use it until such time as you can afford to replace the items.

Easy Bills

Generally speaking, furnished apartments are advertised as “all-inclusive.” This means that you will only have one bill to pay at the end of the month. All-inclusive means that they are not only going to be providing you with a fully furnished place to live, but they are also going to be paying the utility bills. This means that you will have all the heat, air conditioning, water, sewage, and trash disposal that you will need. The landlord will pay this bill for you. Obviously, it will be included in the price of rent as nothing in life is free. 

Payments like this are quite attractive to younger apartment dwellers. They will have the ability to pay the landlord on an automatic payment. This is something that is not quite possible with bills that fluctuate every month. Your invoice will be the same each month, and you can set up the payment option with your landlord.

Lack of Choices

It would be amiss to discuss the benefits of renting a fully furnished apartment without listing a few of the negatives. One of those negatives is that you will have a minimal choice when it comes to the furnishings of your home. It is not like you will be able to dictate to your landlord the pallet in which you like to live. Thus, demanding him/her change the couch or drapes is not going to be something you can do. You will have to live with the decisions that they have made.

While you can shop around for a style that best suits yours, you will be hard-pressed to find much variety. The truth is, most landlords find the cheapest items they can to furnish the apartment. This is done for several reasons, but the main reason is listed below.

Liability

This is the second reason they do not like to put expensive items in an apartment. They have found in the past that many tenants do not respect the property. This means they have to replace these items when a new tenant rents the apartment. 

Remember, when you rent a fully furnished apartment, you are going to be responsible for any damage that is done to the furnished pieces as well. Much the same as the apartment in general, you will only be accountable for negligence. Anything that can be considered normal wear and tear should not be charged to you. Of course, that determination is made by the landlord. If you feel you have been charged for something that you don’t feel you should be, take it up with the rental board in your state, county, or city. They will help you. Taking pictures of before and after will help your cause.

Pros and Cons

When it comes to the positive parts of renting an apartment, there are plenty. Some of the positives that I can think of off the top of my head are, all you have to do is bring your clothes, no lugging of heavy boxes and furniture, and not spending extra money on furnishings that you didn’t have.

The downsides to a fully furnished apartment are, the furnishing may not be in a style that you care for, the furniture may have been used by others (including the bed), you bear responsibility for all damages in the apartment.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you are the one that needs to make the decision. I, Mark Roemer, can only provide you with the things you need to know. I hope that the information that I provided you will make it easier to decide on what to do. Make sure when you are making a decision, you weigh the good and the bad. If the good outweighs the bad, then you should do it. Happy apartment hunting!