Anyone know of a PM to rent out my furnished condo San Jose, CA?

Question

Hello Bigger Pockets fam,

I was hoping for a good contact to rent out my furnished condo in San Jose, Ca. Would people recommend renting out furnished units or is it better to sell my furniture and then rent it out?

My Current PM doesn’t rent out furnished units but thought it might be more profitable to rent it out furnished.

Thank you so much!

Sharon Hsu · Answer

@Nadia O. Thanks for sharing your experience with me. It seems like it’s a hassle so I’ll likely look to sell my furniture.

Ryan Landis · Answer

@Sharon Hsu yep! And the higher fee might eat into the extra you could get for it furnished as well too!

Sharon Hsu · Answer

@Ryan Landis so true!

Rob B. · Answer

Hi Sharon! Thanks for the post. I think there are a couple of options here. On one hand you could do a shorter term rental in which case keeping it fully furnished wouldn't be a bad idea. If you plan on renting it out in a standard tenant lease format, then I'd probably recommend selling off the furniture first.

Additionally, even if your current PM doesn't rent out furnished units, you can exercise using another self-managed option where you can list and screen for the unit yourself (and cut back on that PM cost). Again, I think the biggest question you'll want to address for yourself first is short term or long term rental? Best of luck! And if you go the route of establishing a longer term rental, there are some great self-management tools out there which can help you to streamline your process! @Sharon Hsu

Chad Hale · Answer

@Sharon Hsu  I manage one long term fully furnished rental.  However, it is a unique situation in a high demand area with longterm connections to a university that serves to house visiting professors 10-12 months at a time.  However, this year due to COVID and the programs being cancelled/changed we filled it with a non-professor for the first time in many years.    We have not had issues with damaged furniture or other issues.  This is helped by the tenant pool being professors tied to a university program.  Any problems would be fed back to the program which could inhibit the professor's reputation in the academic world.   That is an example of where a furnished rental could work.  In the vast majority of locations, unfurnished is the way to go.

A furnished home allows for 3X security deposit compared to 2X for an unfurnished home.

Ryan Landis · Answer

@Sharon Hsu most won't just due to the nature of the increased responsibilities, etc. (maybe they will for a higher fee though). You might be able to find one of the Airbnb arbitrage people as an idea (i.e. you rent it to them and let them figure out how to make the spread on it being furnished). I am sure you know this too, but most condos might have restrictions on sub 30 day stays so if you are doing long-term furnished you might need to find more of a corporate housing situation, etc.

Chad Hale · Answer

@Sharon Hsu  Are you planning on short or long term furnished rental?

Depending on the location, an unfurnished home will likely rent better for long term tenants.

On the furnished side, you could look at travelling nurses type of work.  They are often looking to rent by the room for 1-3months.

I've had homes in the past where the owners wanted to rent furnished as long term and they sat vacant.  As soon as the furniture was removed and listed as unfurnished, they were quickly rented out long term.

The short term / airbnb market was good a few years back but was flooded by everyone doing that.  Not sure what it is doing right now, but probably tough due to COVID.

Nadia O. · Answer

@Sharon Hsu unfortunately in order to rent your condo long terms, you do have to list it unfurnished. My place was rented out as a furnished Short term & then switched to long terms. I already had furnished my place but i got rid off most of them with exceptions on a little sofa & TVs. Anyway long story short, my renters ended up buying their own furnitures & decided to put everything in the garage. And that created additional problem especially with management. I was fined for over $400 for using garage as storage. So yea, get rid of them or sell them. Plus overtime, your renters won't care about taking care of your furnitures

Jon L. · Answer

@Sharon Hsu,

Like other's have said, managing furnished rentals can come with issues over damage, future ownership ETC.

Mynd Management manages only unfurnished properties in the San Jose area for that reason and I know that several other property management companies in the area take a similar stance.

Good luck renting out your property!

Jon

Sharon Hsu · Answer

@Jon L. Thank you! My PM also rents unfurnished only for the same reason.

Anyone know of a PM to rent out my furnished condo San Jose, CA?

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