Furnishing Mid-Term Rentals

[Mario Keophilalay]

Hey BP community,

Can I get some tips or even secrets on how to furnish a mid-term rental affordably but while keeping the quality nice. I am wondering if there is a site that let you rent furniture but if not where does everyone else buy their furniture for their MTRs. Looking in the Dallas, TX area. Thank you in advance!

[Mario Keophilalay]

Sorry I meant to put Mid** term rentals in the header.

[Bruce Lynn]

If you have time and a truck and want to buy things piece by piece, there's always FB marketplace.  Also there is a Habitat for Humanity resale store at Hampton and Singleton in West Dallas.  There are actually several, but this one probably has the best selection of furniture...although it is very hit and miss.  

The Dump is a giant furniture store that has good prices in Irving.

There is also Big Lots in various locations....Bedford and Lewisville location tend to have some furniture selction.

[Mose Gebremeskel]

Hey Mario, I'm currently in the same situation. Initially, we bought a lot of furniture from Bidfta/Fasttrack, usually they have great deals. Not sure if they have one in that area. However, I also think Facebook is a good source. 

[Jamie Banks]

I've had good success using Amazon and Wayfair. If you have an LLC you can can sign up for Wayfair Pro to get discounts. If you have multiple units you can sign up for HostGPO cost but has amazing discounts

[Mario Keophilalay]

Wow thank you all for the great responses I think they were very helpful!

[Joey Banasihan]

Hey @Mario Keophilalay, I think folks have provided some good suggestions. What I would add is being strategic with where you put your money regarding quality and where you can find a good deal.  In my experience, put more effort toward bed, living room couch, and streaming service (Roku). These are used everyday and can impact the tenants experience tremendously. Other furnitre, kitchen appliances, dining sets, lighting, etc, I think find a good deal, as long as there is some type of aesthetic continuity. Happy to share some of the items I have sourced via DM. Good luck!

[Nicole Heasley Beitenman]

I don't recommend FB Marketplace. By the time you find a piece you like, get a hold of the seller, negotiate price and pickup time, go see it, decide you don't want it, start looking again...it's just too time-consuming for us. 

We also tried the Wayfair/Amazon/Walmart stuff. It's junk. We've had our MTR operating less than a year, and my coffee table is already too scratched up. It's all particle board garbage.

Our local Ashley Furniture was running a VIP sale around Black Friday and we got 45% off a living room set for our primary. I asked them for the dates of their next sale and got chummy with the manager. We're going to furnish our second MTR (and replace some pieces for the first) during their next big sale. I'd go to all your local furniture stores and talk to them about their sale schedule throughout the year. 

[Kelly O'Keefe]

Hi @Mario Keophilalay, 

I see that you are in Colorado Springs, Fort Carson has a lot of soldiers coming and going. There may be a few stores where they are selling items quickly prior to moving. I know there are a few on post that are designed to help soldiers, but there are probably some in the area outside of base as well. It might be worth it to find quality furniture and then rent a trailer to take it to Dallas. Alternatively there may be bases closer to Dallas to find similar deals

Good luck!

[James Carlson]

Hey @Mario Keophilalay

We're in Colorado Springs as well. (We have a few medium-term rentals and have several clients doing it.) According to my wife, Erin (a midterm rental expert, if I can brag a bit), Amazon is a great place to buy furniture for this. They have decently updated styling and affordable prices and everything gets delivered. 

If you're looking for any other advice, Erin's written a few books on the topic as well -- Erin's Guide to Midterm Rentals and American Nomads.

[Jordan Malara]

@Mario Keophilalay For our STRs and MTRs in Colorado Springs we have usually stuck with purchasing from Amazon and Mayfair as well as Facebook marketplace occasionally. That being said, the more important factor to consider is time to procure items. If you are waiting on construction to finish and are not missing out on rentable days for your unit, then feel free to shop around for a good deal. However, if you bought a place and it is sitting empty because you are trying to find good deals then you are in fact losing out on potential revenue. Sometimes it is just better to bite the bullet, pay a little bit more, but get your listing live and rented sooner. If cash if tight to purchase furnishings, some companies off "Buy now, pay later" options or smaller lines of credit can be relatively easy to get from credit cards that offer an initial term of 0% financing. I will caution you though, that it is important to understand your numbers very well before taking out financing on furnishings. We have used this strategies a few times before, but that is because we knew that we would have the revenue pay it off far before the intro period ended. Hope that helps provide a different perspective. Best of luck!

[Tanner Pile]

@Mario Keophilalay American Furniture Warehouse (AFW) is another good spot in addition to amazon and Wayfair. AFW also has quality sleeper sofas!

[Tanishia Epps]

Check out my YT channel. I've got a lot of videos there and a few I've talked about how I furnished the units.  My first one I did all on my own with mostly stuff from FB marketplace and Amazon.

[Jody Moscrip]

A great read for anyone doing Mid-Term Rentals is '30 Day Stay' by Sarah Weaver & Zeona McIntyre. Chapter dedicated to furnishing. Sarah offers a number of resources on her website https://www.sarahdweaver.com/arya that may prove valuable. She also hosts free educational events pretty regularly. 

[Allen Duan]

Our "nice and affordable" strategy was a mix of IKEA, Amazon, and Target. IKEA and Amazon have 0% financing cards which are super helpful. You can make interest free payments from 6-12 months depending on how much you spend.

[Colleen F.]

@Mario Keophilalay higher quality consignment stores are also a good option. 

[Christi Wolverton]

@Jamie Banks - I agree!  I love the ability to make a list of items on Amazon and then I just order that same list every single time for the basic accessories - kitchen, bedrooms, and even coffee tables/desks, rugs, etc.  I honestly use a furniture store here for the big pieces - couch/mattresses.  I need to start hitting them up for a discount program though as we keep adding units.  I usually go to Hobby Lobby and look for their discount weeks for wall art or furniture to add cute fill in pieces.  However - we have a resale furniture store here that takes excellent care of us!  They have decently nice pieces from kitchen tables/chairs to dressers and beds and sometimes we even find couches or rugs.  

[Brandon Vanderford]

For central North Carolina, I work with an interior designer who purchases primarily from thrift stores and the Restore. She also refinishes a lot of the furniture herself. Unfortunately, this does not help you in Dallas, TX. But if anyone needs someone in the Raleigh/Durham area, I can connect you. 

But that is something to keep in mind. It is relatively easy to refurbish furniture, if you have a little time and know-how. Wayfair looks trendy, but a lot of their stuff will not hold up as long as a Facebook Marketplace or thrift store find.

[Zachary Deal]

@Mario Keophilalay I would check out Kaiyo - very high quality used furniture that is delivered right to the unit!

[Colleen F.]

@Brandon Vanderford that is a great find.  I have done  a few dressers and tables myself.  The lack of long term durability in some newer furniture is an issue with hard use. I advise to get wood furniture on the thrift market,  Matresses new and couches and chairs it depends. The other place where you can get good stuff depending on where you are is online estate auctions. 

[Bonnie Low]

It's tempting to go cheap but it will cost you in the long run. As others have pointed out, quality and durability are real budget killers. You end up spending more to replace broken or damaged places than you would if you'd just spent a bit more on quality pieces to begin with. You also don't want to sacrifice on comfort because that's where you earn good reviews and in the case of midterms, gets your guests to want to re-up their lease with you. Beds have to be durable and comfortable. Your couch should be, too. I always buy at least one "scroll stopper" piece to help my place stand out from other listings. In one unit my scroll stopper is a huge, deep plush couch that could seat 10 people comfortably. Everyone wants to nap on it or cuddle up for movie night. In another, smaller property I have a leather couch, cowhide rug and a pink armchair. It's our cover photo and, believe it or not, the combination just works and there's nothing else like it in our area (all credit to my daughter-in-law who designs our places). The place to save money is in your decor like art work, throw blankets, pillows etc. You can find surprisingly affordable glassware, cutlery, dishes and towels at places like TJMaxx. Nowadays there is so much competition that you really have to nail the design and price your unit right for your market and ideal guest type. With more and more STR owners pivoting to MTR the bar has really been raised.