Furnished or unfurnished?

[Maria Bezugly]

I have a B+ property and want to rent it. Do I advertise furnished or not? Currently, it has basic furnishings and I'd like to rent it that way. But does that up the value a lot or renters prefer to furnish themselves? The rent would still be competitive with local prices. Anyone have any experience with this?

[Cassi Justiz]

It's going to depend on your market. In my area, it's rare that someone wants a long term rental that is furnished. There are a few types of tenants (short term rentals, contract workers, students, etc) that will prefer a furnished rental. If you are targeting one of those tenant classes, then by all means leave it furnished. But overall, I've found that most people are going to have their own stuff.

Another thing to think about are your maintenance costs. If you have a furnished rental, your maintenance goes from systems to furniture. You have to make sure the furniture still looks nice and is functional after every turn-over. You won't be able to charge for normal wear and tear, so those replacements are just something you'll have to budget for.