Furnished or Unfurnished rental property. What brings in more rental income? Should I leave the furnishings in place at my rental property? Is it easier to rent out a furnished rental property or an unfurnished rental property? Why isn’t my furnished rental property leasing? Is it better to market my rental property with my furnishings in place? In this article, we will provide you the answers to these questions.
When Is A Furnished Rental Property A Good Idea in Orlando?
As a professional property management service provider in Orlando & Central Florida, we see homeowners and investors wanting to rent out their secondary home here in Central Florida with all their furnishing in place. Some situations make sense for a rental property owner to lease a fully furnished home. For example, if you do not plan to rent the property out for long periods or plan on moving back in. Then leaving the furnishing in place is ideal for you. One common situation is that the home is a vacation rental property or short-term rental property. If you are considering any lease term under six months and one day, you’ll see the benefits and the need for the furnishing to make your home more desirable to vacationers and tourists. Another situation would be a high-end luxury rental property or corporate housing with a three-month stay. These rental properties will deliver a higher rental rate, but your turn-over is higher, and there will be more wear and tear on the furnishing. Corporate housing rental or vacation rental must have furnishings. However, we highly recommend removing the furnishings for anything longer than six months and one day.
Why Doesn’t My Furnished Long-term Rental Bring In A Higher Rental Rate?
At face value, you would think that by providing a fully-furnished rental property to prospective tenants, that the rental property would command a higher rental rate. However, for a stand three bedroom, two bathroom single-family home, condo, townhome, or apartment, the furnishings do not add that much value to the tenant looking for a long-term rental property. The majority of prospective tenants renting on a 12-month lease or more extended agreement already have all the property’s furnishing needed. By including furnishing in your rental property, you are narrowing down your prospective tenant pool. Your demographic is likely someone with absolutely nothing and looking to move to the area for a short period for work or a contract job, leading to a longer tenant retention rate for your investment property. Which leads us to our third segment, to whether it is easier to rent a furnished or unfurnished rental property.
Is It Easier To Rent Out A Furnished Rental Property Or An Unfurnished Rental Property?
If we are talking about a long-term rental property, it is far more difficult to rent a fully furnished rental property. As previously mentioned, the number one issue is that prospects typically have their bed, dresser, nightstands, lamps, etc. By leaving those items in place, the prospects have to decide if they want to store their own, sell their furnishing, or pass on your rental property.
Our property management experience here in the Orlando market can typically lease a standard rental property in our market, if accurately priced, and the home is move-in ready within or under 30 days. The key to rental property investing is to know how to rent your rental property quickly. Marketing fully furnished rental properties typically take double the amount of time. So if you are ok with the more prolonged vacancy and holding costs, it can still be an option for you.
Why Is It A Bad Idea To Rent A Fully Furnished Rental Property?
Suppose you have any attachment to any of the furnishings or personal belongings in your rental property. Please remove them before a tenant moves in. Do not expect a tenant to treat your belongings as if it were theirs. If something breaks, tears, rips, or gets torn. Please do not get frustrated as it is part of supplying a furnished rental property to tenants. A move-in condition/inspection report is crucial to document your larger items provided condition at move-in. If you are supplying everyday utensils, you need to have a rock-solid inventory checklist. This way, you know you provided and documented a property with a coffee pot, along with 12 plates, six bowls, and five whiskey glasses. But to be honest, they’ll likely end up growing legs and walking away during the 12-month tenancy. As always, when you perform your rental property inspections, document, document, document, and document some more while you’re at it.
Short-term Furnished Airbnb Rental Property To Long-term Rental Property.
As a property management company operating in a gigantic mecca of tourism and fun-filled family vacations in Orlando, Florida, the House of Mouse is in our backyard. We see our fair share of short-term rentals, Airbnb, and vacation rental owners and investors, looking to convert their vacation rental property into a long-term rental property. The most challenging hurdle these owners face is figuring out how to remove the furnishing or try renting out the fully furnished rental property set up for vacationers. Both options are possible and achievable; however, if you are making the switch permanently to a long-term investment rental property, it’s better to do the work and remove all the furnishings.
So Which Is Better? Furnished Or Unfurnished In Orlando, Florida.
Personal opinion, we here at The Listing Real Estate Management would say unfurnished all day long for long-term tenancies. However, like any rental property investment, it all depends on your investment goals and desired outcome. Short-term vacation rental high-quality furnishing is a must, but for anything longer than six months one day, we’d advise you to remove the furnishings as soon as possible.
If you have any questions and want to connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out. As one of Orlando’s most trusted property management companies, we are transparent with our owners and strive to be a resource to set them up for success. If you have any questions or want to learn more about our property management company in Orlando, please contact The Listing Real Estate Management, your best choice for Orlando property management. Cheers!
