Furnishing Short Term Rental from a distance

[Eleanor Fitzsimmons]

Hello - this is our first purchase. We are considering a short term rental 4 hours away from us and would self manage so we have not looked for property manager.  The thought of buying the furniture and outfitting while at the same time getting best prices seems daunting. Even if I spent a week there working on it, I don't see how I could do it without making a lot of mistakes and overspending.

Do property managers ever do this even if you are not hiring them to manage the property?

Thank you!

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Eleanor Fitzsimmons, 4 hours isn't that far away. We are about 7 hours from ours and we did it all ourselves. How big is the place?

I would start scouring Craiglist, OfferUP and LetGO as well as Facebook marketplace for what you need. Are you started completely from scratch?

I would concentrate on picking a style that fits the place. Mountain cabin, seashore place, high desert etc. Look on Pintrest, Instagram etc, for inspiration. Focus on finding USA made furniture. It will last longer for sure. You can find some really great stuff for pennies on the dollar used.

For mattresses, get the Zinus 12" Green Tea mattresses. They are great and not very expensive. New only. Make sure you a nice waterproof cover. Costco has the Serta for a good price and it is what we use.

For towels, I would get the Grandeur Hospitality from Costco. They are white, wash up great and last. We are on our third year with ours. They go on sale pretty regularly.

For sheets, 70/30 Cotton/Poly blend in a percale weave. White also. They hold up better than a sateen weave. They are crisp and sleep cool. Also, the Charisma brand of comforters at Costco are great for summer quilts. They are awesome. They wash up nice and hang perfect on the bed.

Really concentrate on the kitchen. Make it a place that you would like to work in. Ours is loaded with pretty much everything you could possibly need. 40+ spices, turkey roasting pan, platters, lots of bowls etc. People need a good place to cook.

Don't forget games for the downtime. I suggest TV's with Roku built in. Easy to use and you can stream pretty much anything.