Buying fully furnished STR unit and taxes

[Louis Barkhuizen]

Good morning all. I am getting ready to pull the trigger on m first STR. I am looking at a couple of fully furnished units, which brings up a question.

Are the contents (furniture, TV,s kitchenware, bedding, etc) of a fully furnished unit listed separately on the purchase contract, or are they just included in the purchase price? I ask this because the contents of a 3 bedroom house can add up to tens of thousands of dollars. Does the appraisal take into account the contents as separate from the real estate itself? 

Also, the furniture can be depreciated of 7 years as opposed to the 27.5 years depreciation schedule for real estate?

Thanks for any input, and have a great day.

[Thomas Dulin]

All the properties in the Smokies come furnished, it's very normal for a vacation market I believe, Paul.

Our purchase contract did NOT include any of the furnishings and explicitly stated so. Instead there was an addendum "bill of sale" for all the furniture, TV, dishes, etc. listed for $1.00. Have your agent write your offer that way, makes things easy!