Should You Furnish Your Rental?

The answer to this question depends on the type of tenants you want to attract. Before making the decision to furnish your rental, consider whether you are targeting short-term or long-term rentals. Short term tenants may only rent your property for a few days, weeks or months, while long term tenants may rent out your house for several years.

• If you are looking for a long-term tenant: In this case, furnishing your rental might not be the best choice. Many long-term tenants already have a lot of furniture, which means that the furniture you provide will take up space in the property, leaving little room to put their own furniture. In addition, your choice of furniture may not go with your tenants’ tastes. For long-term tenants, furnished rentals are often a headache. In addition, any furniture you provide may be damaged or need to be cleaned. In this case, the cost of repairing or cleaning is usually the responsibility of the tenants, which will add an unnecessary expense to them.

• If you are looking for a short-term rental: If you want to focus on a short-term rental, then a furnished unit may be a good choice. Students, business travelers, or seasonal workers usually require temporary housing where the lease term does not exceed one year. For this reason, temporary renters tend to choose houses with furniture. Moreover, many of them may value the fact that they can enjoy a complete set of furniture without going out of their way to buy one.

Tellus TIP:

If you intend to target very short-term renters, such as Airbnb renters, then furnishing your rental will be the best option for you—in these cases, you should also think about covering utilities and wireless Internet.