Renting out a Fully Furnished Property May Not Be As Easy As It Looks
Renting out a fully furnished property is a great thing to do, mainly for owners of small apartments or condos. This kind of rent is suitable for people who, regarding their usual lifestyle, mostly need a home ready to be occupied, so that they don’t have to buy any house equipment. However, first there are a lot of things to think about and decide, before you will be able to earn some extra money by renting your place.
How much will it all be?
The first step is to find out all the costs involved in setting everything up beforehand. Check the listings of other fully furnished properties available in your neighbourhood. Try to find some apartments that are close to yours – in size, location and furnishing. The point for you is to find out what the usual rent for a fully furnished property such as yours would be. As soon as you know that, the next step is to write a list of everything you would need to buy so that your apartment would really be “fully furnished”. Nowadays, renting out a fully furnished apartment 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 equipment and appliances, towels, bed linen or cleaning supplies.
The next step is to make up your mind if you can afford to fully furnish your flat to the extent described above. There are for sure some items you would have to buy to fully furnish your property – make a list of all of them. Also consider the fact that there may be multiple renters over a number of years, with periods of unoccupation between them. If you believe that offering your property as fully furnished is too much hassle for you at the moment then the solution might be to list your apartment as ‘part-furnished’. It may be less lucrative than a fully furnished place, but it is definitely easier for you.
List all the equipment, set up a deposit
First take away all your private things, e.g. family photographs and so on, just everything that you consider as only yours – mainly if you have lived in the flat yourself. The next thing to do is to prepare an inventory of all items in the property. Walk through all the rooms together with the tenant and agree on everything that is provided in the flat as yours. That should include counting individual objects such as the amount of spoons, forks, knives towels or linen. It is seen as good practice to have the list prepared in the presence of your rental agent and once agreed, the inventory should be signed by all parties. After the end date of the contract, go through the place again and list everything that is there. All objects 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.
As the winter Olympic games are coming soon, more and more Vancouver inhabitants are thinking about renting out their fully furnished apartments to take advantage of this unique opportunity. While this might be the case if you already have a convenient unit, it may become a nightmare if you have to start from scratch. Try not to think of renting out your properties only as a quick way to get rich, but plan the investment over the long term.
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