Furnished or Unfurnished?

Pipmae

I'm just looking for opinions re furnished and unfurnished rentals. Is there a high demand for unfurnished rentals?

My tenant has just handed in her notice so I need to replace her. When I let the house to her I let it unfurnished. This was mainly due to the fact the furniture I had was worn and would have needed to be replaced. She had her own furniture so didn't want any from me. So the tenancy went ahead with an unfurnished agreement.

It's a 2 bed terraced house if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance.

johnnyskeleton

Rent as unfurnished and let the tenant buy their own furniture

theteal

Yup, unfurnished. We'd rather have our own furniture that we like than some cheap ikea/argos stuff that'll probably break if somebody farts on it!

lollsangel

My most recent rental is unfurnished. So much prefer it, we had most of our own stuff anyway. Many people in their late 20s onwards have their own bits and much prefer to furnish a place themselves

Pipmae

Thanks folks.

MarkAnthony

I've yet to see an unfurnished place advertised in Dublin. I'd venture it's very rare indeed. It's a shame as it would seem to be a much better way of doing things.

Please let us know how you get on if you do rent in unfurnished.

borderlinemeath

My husband is in the same predicament, tenants moved out after 3 years and the house is getting a major overhaul, new kitchen, bathroom, flooring etc. All the furniture had to be thrown out, if the tenants kids hadn't broken it, they had drawn all over it :mad:. My view would be you would get a better type of tenant, if they had their own furniture, they would be far more likely to look after it, thus look after the house better, so he's going to try and let it unfurnished. The kitchen is due to be installed next week so it'll be advertised unfurnished as soon as it's done.

Jen44

what do people think of part furnished?

cormie

Folks I've moved to unfurnished places say they had difficulty finding a place that's unfurnished. Especially people from the continent who say almost everywhere is rented unfurnished where they were from so everyone has their own furniture.

Jen44

Im just about to rent my house, perhaps unfurnished is the way to go? We were going to leave some furniture and take the rest with us

Pac2015

Pipmae wrote: »

I'm just looking for opinions re furnished and unfurnished rentals. Is there a high demand for unfurnished rentals?

My tenant has just handed in her notice so I need to replace her. When I let the house to her I let it unfurnished. This was mainly due to the fact the furniture I had was worn and would have needed to be replaced. She had her own furniture so didn't want any from me. So the tenancy went ahead with an unfurnished agreement.

It's a 2 bed terraced house if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance.

Definately unfurnished that way they can bring their own furniture that is what we did, we were left some bits by our LL but it was all in tatters and ended up breaking so we have replaced the suite and will need to let her take money out of the deposit for a new set of dining chairs even though the ones she left us were in terrible condition.
It's less stress if people have their own stuff if it breaks they either dont care or can just replace it in their own time.

Pac2015

Jen44 wrote: »

what do people think of part furnished?

You can leave it part furnished but be prepared to replace things if they break or get them repaired most people have their own furniture I know we had alot of bits when we moved to a rented house in 2012, I then rented my apartment out and left it fully furnished with alot of good furniture as it went with the look of the place but my first tenants wrecked the place and had no respect for my stuff but my second tenant who has been there since Jan 2013 is brilliant and looks after everything really well so it just depends on what type of tenant you get in and if they have their own stuff.

jon1981

Definitely don't bother with beds. In previous rentals I always ended up putting the ****ty cheap beds and mattresses into storage and putting my own in, then replacing again when i moved out.

To your question, it depends on the tenant, you probably need to make it clear when advertising that you will not provide any furniture. Personally I prefer that, though it's a huge expense for ppl renting and I'd say most won't afford it. Beds, sofas, dining tables, drawers..etc. it's a big outlay.

karenalot

There is definitely a market for unfurnished rentals in Ireland but most landlords are afraid they won't be able to let, get as much money etc as it's not the done thing just yet.

One of the reasons I bought a house when I did was because I couldn't face the crappy decor of most Irish rentals. Most of it looked like it had been dragged out of a skip. Another was because I had pets which most landlords didn't allow due to their main fear of the furniture being damaged. If I had of been able to bring my own stuff along it may have been a different scenario and renting might have been a good option for me.

Pac2015

karenalot wrote: »

There is definitely a market for unfurnished rentals in Ireland but most landlords are afraid they won't be able to let, get as much money etc as it's not the done thing just yet.

One of the reasons I bought a house when I did was because I couldn't face the crappy decor of most Irish rentals. Most of it looked like it had been dragged out of a skip. Another was because I had pets which most landlords didn't allow due to their main fear of the furniture being damaged. If I had of been able to bring my own stuff along it may have been a different scenario and renting might have been a good option for me.

I don't think renting is a good option I bought a one bed apartment in 2008 when we got married it was too small plus we now had 2 cats so we decided to rent for a year in 2012 and yes your right house was a kip and still is plus furniture was in tatters and actually alot broke within a few months but unfortunately with the new mortgage rules we at the moment are ruled out of buying so we have two options move back to the apt or keep renting and hope we can save more money.
I rent my apartment out and my furniture that I left there is lovely and in great condition first tenants wrecked the place but now I have a lovely girl who really respects the place and keeps my furniture with no damage.

awec

Just whatever you do PLEASE don't put glass topped tables and coffee tables in.

Our apartment has these and they drive me crazy. Every single finger print shows up! They are impossible to keep clean.

Bray Head

From a landlord's perspective letting unfurnished is not ideal. You are limiting yourself to a much smaller pool of potential tenants. If the property is a standard 2-bed apartment you might be okay as this is a pretty liquid market.

If your property is in any way niche then adding the caveat of unfurnished makes it harder to let.

The tax relief for landlords on furniture probably tips the market in the direction of furnished-as-standard too.

It is paradoxically the opposite in markets where unfurnished is the norm such as on the continent. Furnished would suit a lot of people but can be very hard to find there.

Pipmae

Updating the thread to say the house has been rented unfurnished for the same rent as furnished ones in the area. To be honest I advertised it at that rate expecting to negotiate but not one person asked me to take less for it. A sign of short supply and high demand I assume.

It went on Daft last Wednesday and the new tenant viewed it and paid the deposit today. I had about 12 interested parties all willing to take it unfurnished.

I've spent money on repainting the inside of the house and putting down new wooden floor downstairs. The new tenant is perfectly content with that and is happy using his own furniture.

El_Dangeroso

Great to hear that, I hope it becomes the norm! We're renting but have our own bed and coffee table along with some drawers, desk and other bits and pieces.

So nice that we can scratch/leave rings on the coffee table (cheap one) to our heart's content and not worry about losing a deposit.

It also takes the sting out of moving into a house we're buying as we don't have to buy everything at once.

Tar.Aldarion

Would prefer unfurnished but never see it here, better than all the crap furniture in places. But if so few places come unfurnished then I feel awkward buying everything and trying to find a place, telling the landlord I have all my own stuff and to take out theirs, they have no storage etc usually so they don't really want that

Personally I'd have zero interest in unfurnished. Why would I spend my money furnishing a place I don't own, the kit out might not suit my next rental Or the place I buy.

I don't know anyone who would want unfurnished as renting is just a stop gap for most until they buy.

pwurple

Bray Head wrote: »

From a landlord's perspective letting unfurnished is not ideal. You are limiting yourself to a much smaller pool of potential tenants. If the property is a standard 2-bed apartment you might be okay as this is a pretty liquid market.

You are limiting yourself, but I'd argue it's to a more stable and more lucrative group of tenants.

We sold our home and rented for a few years while we were looking for a place to buy. We had our own furniture, and were willing to pay more for unfurnished, as it meant we had lower storage costs if we could bring our stuff with us. We were slightly older than your average tenant, and more settled and as a result had more spending power.

The unfurnished units we rented were more expensive, but better quality. It's the upper end of the market, and in my opinion, unless you are a full-time landlord turning over heaps of properties every few weeks, it's a better way to make it work financially. For Ireland's 'accidental' and one-off property landlords, I'd heartily recommend renting unfurnished and putting larger maintenance into the bones of the building, rather than replacing crappy furniture.

The tenant is more likely to be a long term tenant, often because it's simply a bigger job to move. And, if they are looking after their furniture (not spilling coffee on the couch!), the likelihood is they will look after the rest of the place as they are at it. Who wants a perfect couch surrounded by crayoned walls?

Tar.Aldarion

Francisco Helpless Valet wrote: »

Personally I'd have zero interest in unfurnished. Why would I spend my money furnishing a place I don't own, the kit out might not suit my next rental Or the place I buy.

I don't know anyone who would want unfurnished as renting is just a stop gap for most until they buy.

Most people I know don't want to buy. I certainly don't either. I like moving and living in different places tbh, and it sounds boring to live somewhere for decades. . With unfurnished apartments like in germany there is rental control and longer leases etc which make it more favourable, as it's not like every year you have to move all your stuff. Not sure how well it would go here. One thing I like about furnished is you can just move to a new place easily and have all new stuff, if you can get a decent apartment. Bit of a problem in Dublin though.

Tar.Aldarion

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Most people I know don't want to buy. I certainly don't either.

You would be in the minority with that. I don't know anybody who doesn't want to buy. My group of friends (late 20's/early 30's) are buying or building houses now one by one. I'd say in 5 years almost everyone will have their own place. I'd be the same I know where I want to live and that's that, moving around is extremly unappealing.

So taking the above into account unfurnished would make no sense to me or the vast majority of people in the country who would have a similar outlook. There may be a small pool of people who want an unfurnished place but it would be very limited.

pwurple

Francisco Helpless Valet wrote: »

You would be in the minority with that. I don't know anybody who doesn't want to buy. My group of friends (late 20's/early 30's) are buying or building houses now one by one. I'd say in 5 years almost everyone will have their own place. I'd be the same I know where I want to live and that's that, moving around is extremly unappealing.

Well, my brother is looking at buying, but he is renting unfurnished because he wanted to start getting a few bits for his future house. They have a comfortable bed, a dining table and a decent sofa in a neutral colour. He reckons that by getting these now, he won't need to fit out an entire house on top of everything else when they do buy. He wants to reduce the stress of moving, and have decent furniture to live in while they save, and when they move. Otherwise there's the panic when you move into a house you've bought, every penny is gone one the solicitor's fees and deposit, and you end up pulling chairs out of a skip.

A house is just walls. It can be decorated to your taste, whatever it is.

It suits loads of people to live in furnished, students, people who are just here for a year or two etc. But once you start to get a bit older, people start to want their OWN stuff.


Speaking also as a landlord who lets unfurnished, there is plenty of demand for it. Turnover is very straightforward with unfurnished too as you don't need to inspect every stick of furniture, and I've a tenant over a decade in the same spot.

Now, if your unit is in an awkward location, and you are finding it hard to find ANYONE who wants to live there, then sure, you can open the net to a wider group by offering furnished. But if your issue is finding tenants who will stay a long time, pay their rent on time and look after the place, then consider unfurnished. You can always take the pictures unfurnished, advertise, and see what the interest is.

mahoganygas

To put it into perspective, a search on Daft for 2 beds in Dublin shows 640 furnished properties and only 28 unfurnished.

You would be cutting yourself off to ~96% of the market.

jester77

mahoganygas wrote: »

To put it into perspective, a search on Daft for 2 beds in Dublin shows 640 furnished properties and only 28 unfurnished.

You would be cutting yourself off to ~96% of the market.

It would be the opposite, with only 28 unfurnished places available then there will be bigger demand which will push the prices up.

mahoganygas

jester77 wrote: »

It would be the opposite, with only 28 unfurnished places available then there will be bigger demand which will push the prices up.

Absolutely. But it could take a hell of a lot longer to find a suitable tenant. An extra month searching for a good tenant will wipe out any benefit from charging a higher rent.

If I was a landlord, i know what my priority would be.

pwurple

mahoganygas wrote: »

Absolutely. But it could take a hell of a lot longer to find a suitable tenant. An extra month searching for a good tenant will wipe out any benefit from charging a higher rent.

If I was a landlord, i know what my priority would be.

You actually save yourself shedloads of time because the turnover is faster and the tenants are already weeded out for you. It's much easier to find a tenant from a small pool who have effectively already vetted themselves financially, than interview hundreds of potentials and check each one of them out. You interview 5 instead of 25. It's far faster.

You also save time because you just get it cleaned and painted, advertise, and let in the space of a few days. No hunting for replacement furniture, checking each leg of the chairs, replacing mattresses. If you've done it right, the place should be pretty much bomb-proof. Completely tiled or hardwood floors, solid kitchen, solid interior doors, good quality plumbing and bathrooms. A quick cleanup and it's ready to go.

awec

Francisco Helpless Valet wrote: »

Personally I'd have zero interest in unfurnished. Why would I spend my money furnishing a place I don't own, the kit out might not suit my next rental Or the place I buy.

I don't know anyone who would want unfurnished as renting is just a stop gap for most until they buy.

For some people renting unfurnished isn't a stop gap. They might be renting for 5 or 6 years or even longer.

Some people might want to decorate a house or apartment to make it feel more homely rather than having the usual bland white / cream walls and cheap furniture that often doesn't even match or look particularly nice.

Jamsiek

awec wrote: »

For some people renting unfurnished isn't a stop gap. They might be renting for 5 or 6 years or even longer.

Some people might want to decorate a house or apartment to make it feel more homely rather than having the usual bland white / cream walls and cheap furniture that often doesn't even match or look particularly nice.

Agreed, I stay in an unfurnished apartment with my GF and we like having our own furniture. Nice to know it's clean and suits what we like. It makes the rent cheaper too so it pays for itself in the long run.