Renting out a fully furnished property is a perfect idea, mainly if you own a small apartment or condo. People who mostly rent such places mostly need a home ready to be moved into, without the need to buy anything – depending on their lifestyle. But before you will earn any extra cash from renting your fully furnished place, first you will have to make a lot of decisions and think about many details.
How much will it cost you?
First of all you’ve got to find out how much you will have to pay up beforehand to set it all up. Go through the offers of available fully furnished properties in your area. The places should be as similar to yours as possible in size, location and furnishing. As soon as you get a more exact idea of the usual rent for a fully furnished property such as yours, prepare a list of all items you would have to buy so that your apartment will really be able to be called “fully furnished”. Nowadays, offering a fully furnished flat means that not only all the necessary furniture is provided, but also all utilities (gas, electricity, water, phone, cable, wireless Internet connection or security services), and also all kitchen ware and appliances, towels, bed linen or cleaning supplies.
Then think about the problem whether fully furnishing your place as described above is possible for you financially. Make a list of all the items you will have to buy so that your place is fully furnished. Also think about the fact that you may have multiple tenants over a number of years, so there will undoubtedly be periods of unoccupation between some tenants. If you decide that making your property fully furnished would be too difficult for you now, there is a possibility to list it as “part-furnished”. It may be less lucrative than a fully furnished place, but it is anyway easier for you.
Listing the provided equipment and setting up a deposit
If you have before lived in the property, it is necessary to remove all of your private belongings such as photographs and everything else that you consider to be yours. Then make a list of every single object present in the flat. You should go from room to room with the tenant and agree on everything that is provided by you. Also don’t forget to count things such as spoons, forks, knives, towels or linen and other individual items. It is considered good practice to have the inventory prepared in the presence of your rental agent and once agreed, the inventory should be signed by all parties. When the contract expires, it is time to go through the flat with the inventory again, noting down all facilities. All items that the tenant has destroyed or lost will have to be replaced and paid for from the deposit that you agreed on at the beginning.
With the winter Olympic games closing in, more and more people in Vancouver are thinking about renting out a fully furnished property to take advantage of this year’s oncoming gold mine. If you already own a suitable place, it might be a great idea, otherwise it might become a nightmare, if you have to start from the very beginning. It is always better to consider the return on investment for rental properties over the long period and not only as a quick way to get rich.
Tags: investment, Real Estate, renting