I wanted to talk through one of the most commonly asked questions from my Landlords – “furnished or unfurnished?” Please watch my video on what my advice would be dependant on location as well as the target audience you want your property to appeal to.
It is most common in my experience, that places such as Manchester City centre would be attractive for students and post graduates however, with that said, we have our share of student life here in Didsbury as well as places such as Fallowfield. In these types of places, shared houses or apartments are the ‘go to’ and if I were to be asked the old age question in this instance – “Furnished or Unfurnished”, I would recommend furnished. This is because many students, post graduates and sharers would not be wanting to invest in their own furniture as well as accommodation so are looking for properties that are fully furnished and ready to move into straight away.
When we discuss family homes, my response would be to leave the property as unfurnished as possible – maybe apart from some white goods such as the fridge/freezer, washing machine etc. In my experience, when considering a family moving into a property, they have their own furniture that they would like to bring with them such as beds, sofa’s, children’s furniture etc. so therefore it would not be necessary for a Landlord to provide these items.
Lastly, I would always say…be FLEXIBLE. If you get a family wanting to move into your property who would like you to provide furnishings, then definitely consider this and provide, within your budget, the items that they desire. Likewise, if you get a couple who have just finished University wanting to move into an apartment that is furnished who have already been furniture shopping themselves, look at potentially removing or storing the furniture for their Tenure. Like with anything, it would looking at the pro’s and con’s to the situation but if you removing some furniture out of your property would get you Tenants moved in within a week, it could be worth your while!
For any questions such as this, or if you have your own specific situation you wish to discuss with me, please give me a call at the Didsbury office or pop in for a chat!
Thanks, Moharram.
