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The Pros and Cons of Owning A Furnished Rental

Furnished Living Room in Greensboro ApartmentThere are several solid reasons why you might consider furnishing your Greensboro rental house. Not only can you charge a higher rent for a furnished property, but on the other hand, you may be able to make your rental open and leased to a wide variety of tenants. However, owning a furnished rental isn’t suitable for every location or property investor, so it’s vital to think about the pros and cons before you start shopping for furniture and décor.

One of the first things you should carefully think about is what type of tenants you will attract to your Greensboro rental property, primarily based on its location and proximity to amenities. Suppose your rental is near a popular vacation spot or a profitable city center bringing in new business professionals. In this case, you may see that offering furnished rentals are one productive method to tap into this renter base.

Furnished rentals can be both short- and long-term, whether your tenant is an executive moving across the country or an investor, project manager, or indeed, other business professionals needing to be near job sites for months at a time. Other demographics are definitely in search of furnished rentals, additionally, so it’s critical to grasp your location and market well before deciding who your rental property is best suited for.

Along with attracting a new group of potential tenants, there are various advantages to furnishing a rental house. In financial terms, furnished rentals frequently rent between 15% and 30% more than unfurnished ones. If you’ve executed nice work with your furnishings, it can even help you rent the property more easily because an attractively furnished space will possibly hold more appeal for renters than an empty one.

Naturally, apart from the benefits, there are also several disadvantages to furnishing a rental house. Probably the major issue and concern that owners of furnished properties face is potential damage and wear and tear on furniture and other items. There is no question that furnishings will have to be regularly changed as they begin to show signs of age and wear. But indeed, tenants may not be as careful with a rental’s furnishings as they would with their own. Choosing good quality, durable items can surely make them last longer, but on the other hand, the cost of replacement is another thing that you’ll definitely have to plan for in your budget.

One other typical problem with furnishings are the small items that are easily broken, lost, or even stolen. Remote controls, bed linens, lamps, and small appliances may quickly break down or disappear. It is complicated to tail every single item in a rental house, which will raise more unwanted work for you as you try to find those. This is in particular true if you want to get compensation for missing or broken items. You will need to make clear documentation of every item in your rental property before your tenant moves in and then do a complete inventory again when they move out.

It’s furthermore crucial to keep in mind that the more things there are in your rental house, the more time and effort you’ll spend on maintenance, cleaning, and general upkeep. Tenants going after a furnished rental will presume and expect every item in the house to be spotless and in good condition. Anything less than that, and you may start losing tenants. If prospective tenants don’t appreciate how you’ve furnished the place or find the furnishings in less-than-ideal conditions, they may decide to not rent your property on that fact alone. They may additionally call on you to remove some of the furnishings, asking for you to find someplace else to store the unwanted items. Any of these situations could result in additional costs that will indeed hurt your monthly cash flows.

Ultimately, the question of whether you should furnish your Greensboro rental is one only you can answer and provide for. But take heart, as long as your decision is based on an in-depth understanding of your ideal tenant and local rental market, you can always feel confident that the choice you make is the best one for you and your properties.

While doing research on every potential income property is a lot of work, Real Property Management of the Triad can help lighten your load. We offer free rental property analyses for investors, which can help you more easily identify whether the income property you want to buy is a profitable option. Contact us online or call us at 336-355-6677 or 336-777-7444 to learn more!

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