New to Real Estate · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2020 · 65 posts · 30 votes
I have a property that I house hacked and am currently living in one of the units. During my time living here I have fully furnished the apartment. I will be moving out in the next couple months and moving across the state and don't necessarily feel like hauling all of the furniture. I am weighing the options of renting the unit furnished vs. unfurnished. Some pros and cons that I see is that if I rent it furnished naturally I should be able to charge more for rent (trying to figure out the delta compared to unfurnished.) On the downside, am I shrinking my renter pool by renting it furnished for the renters who have their own furniture? Has anybody rented furnished apartments and what are some of the pros and cons. All answers appreciated!
I second what @Thomas O'Donnell said. Traveling nurses seem to be a very popular thing ever since the pandemic and many friends and colleagues have bought a short term rental (AirBnB) and signed multiple month agreements with the tenants. They had to furnish the homes but it seems like would not have that expense as you already have the furniture there.
AirBnB also assists landlords in the case that there is damage so that may be worth looking into.
My only concern with setting this up as a LTR while being fully furnished is that you could be limiting the number of possible tenants interested in leasing out your property as most tenants in my experience prefer to have their own items in the home.
Is there anything near the property that would make it work as a medium-term rental? Such as a hospital with traveling nurses, or a big company down the road where some employees might need temporary stays?
@Thomas O'Donnell Nearest hospital is 7.6 miles away (15 min drive) and in the surrounding area not really any super large business. The short-mid term rental is an option but am wondering how the furnishing would apply to a long term lease. I guess I could always take a month or two and list it as a STR or MTR and switch to LTR depending on how the demand is.
I second what @Thomas O'Donnell said. Traveling nurses seem to be a very popular thing ever since the pandemic and many friends and colleagues have bought a short term rental (AirBnB) and signed multiple month agreements with the tenants. They had to furnish the homes but it seems like would not have that expense as you already have the furniture there.
AirBnB also assists landlords in the case that there is damage so that may be worth looking into.
My only concern with setting this up as a LTR while being fully furnished is that you could be limiting the number of possible tenants interested in leasing out your property as most tenants in my experience prefer to have their own items in the home.
Fully furnished properties work best for short/mid-term rentals. A majority of people who are moving already have their own furniture/belongings. There may be very little interest in your place for this exact reason. People who are looking to rent a fully furnished place long-term will usually choose this option because they are either first time renters moving out of their parents house or someone else's, or they have fallen on hard times and don't actually own anything. In this case, they probably do not have established credit or a solid rental history. Not saying it isn't possible, but will most likely be a lot harder.
I have a property that I house hacked and am currently living in one of the units. During my time living here I have fully furnished the apartment. I will be moving out in the next couple months and moving across the state and don't necessarily feel like hauling all of the furniture. I am weighing the options of renting the unit furnished vs. unfurnished. Some pros and cons that I see is that if I rent it furnished naturally I should be able to charge more for rent (trying to figure out the delta compared to unfurnished.) On the downside, am I shrinking my renter pool by renting it furnished for the renters who have their own furniture? Has anybody rented furnished apartments and what are some of the pros and cons. All answers appreciated!
I have a military guy in one of my STRs who is renting it for longer term. He brought some furniture in but wanted the rest to say, so we created a hybrid solution. My advice is to leave it furnished and advertise for a higher rate on Furnished Finders or Homes.Mil (if you are near any military bases).