Mark Roemer image of a furnished and unfurnished apartment

To Furnish or Not to Furnish Apartments

Deciding or whether or not to furnish apartments is something that has been debated for several years. Furnishing apartments demand capital that you may or may not have. They can be quite expensive, depending on the quality of the furnishings. Likewise, when the tenant vacates the apartment, you will be left with the decision to keep or replace individual furnishings. I, Mark Roemer, am going to provide you with things to think about when it comes to renting your apartment furnished or not.

The Benefits of Furnishing

The first thing to consider is how much you can get for a furnished apartment. While you can ask for extra money for furnishing the apartment, your area might not have a demand for such apartments. Additionally, you need to consider if the price point will be too high for the income in the area. Well-furnished apartments can demand rent up to 75% more than the same apartment without furnishings. So, if you have a $1,000 a month apartment, you could theoretically charge up to $1,750. Doing the math shows us that you will be earning an extra $9,000 per year. The downsides are that you might have to take some of that extra money and put it back into the apartment, and tenants tend to stay less time in furnished apartments.

This brings us to short term rentals. If you are considering renting a furnished apartment, you should also consider shorter lease options. Many of the people that will rent such a place will be businessmen and women who have been transferred to a city for a short period of time. They don’t want to stay in a hotel for that long, and they likewise don’t want to invest in furniture for a place they will only be for approximately six months.

Furnished apartments are also ideal for first-time renters. This is something to consider when deciding to furnish or not. First-time renters are often unreliable. They may have trouble paying the rent on time and will likely do more damage to your property than your unfurnished properties. Remember, anything that gets damaged heavily will have to be replaced after they leave. This will cut into your bottom-line.

No matter if it is a business professional or a first-time renter, you will need to demand more respect for your property. As most people know, when something does not belong to someone, they don’t tend to treat it very well. This can lead to spending more money furnishing the apartment than you are making from the apartment.

One final thing to consider is the tax deductions you can take for furnishing an apartment. Furnished apartments allow you to deduct a certain amount of the cost of goods for furnishing apartments. This tax break may be the tipping point on whether or not you decide to rent a furnished apartment.

The Benefits of Not Furnishing

Much like furnishing an apartment, you need to consider the length of time tenants will stay in the unit. Typically, unfurnished apartments see more extended lease agreements. The reason for this is tenants spend their time and money to furnish the house to their needs. When a tenant takes the time to do this, they have a vested interest in the property. Naturally, with this level of dedication, they are likely to stay longer. 

Furnished apartments can cost you extra money in insurance payments. When you opt to rent the unit unfurnished, you will not have to carry the same level of insurance. The tenant will need to provide their own renter’s insurance. On a side note, I suggest that you make sure each and every one of your tenants is carrying renter’s insurance prior to them moving in. Should they not have insurance, the burden will fall on you for any damage they cause to other tenants.

Much the same as not having to worry about carrying extra insurance on the furniture you supply, you will not have to worry about the wear and tear to the furniture. As I discussed above, when you furnish the apartment, you will have to assess the furniture on the move out day of every tenant you have. Failure to appropriately update the furniture can decrease the number of interested parties or find you have to lower the rent as a result.

Generally speaking, when you rent a fully furnished house or apartment, it is understood that everything is included. This can see you spending extra money on things such as garbage removal, water bills, electric bills, and so much more. When you provide an unfurnished property to someone, they will not assume you are carrying any of those burdens. They will understand they will need to subject themselves to these bills in addition to the rent.

Last but not least, you will have fewer management duties. You wouldn’t think that just because you choose to furnish or not furnish a property that it has an impact on how much you have to be involved. You would be wrong. The more tenants that come through the property, the more paperwork and management you will have to do. Since new tenants bring new issues, you may find yourself making more phone calls as well.

Conclusion

I, Mark Romer, cannot decide for you. This is something you are going to have to weigh out and decide for yourself. No matter which way you look at it, renting property is always an adventure. I will tell you this; I don’t rent my properties furnished anymore. I found it to be too much of a hassle. I do not have enough properties to make it a full-time job. Meaning, I rent apartments a sort of a side hustle. When you only have a little time to put into the apartments, you will find that renting furnished apartments will take up a lot of your time. However, if you have many units available and this is your primary job, I think it would be a great way to spend your time.