Ways to capitalize on including home furniture in all of your property rentals
Do you have difficulty keeping qualified tenants in your property rentals? One of the things that can give you an advantage is by offering furnished rentals. Furnishing a rental home is a relatively minor investment in light of the ways that it positions you as preferable to other property management offerings.
Offering furnished housing is both highly desirable and highly uncommon. There are several types of tenants that might be attracted to renting your furnished property, some guaranteeing rental income. Adding furnishings also opens up possibilities for short-term rental income between long-term tenants.
Here are four ways that you can capitalize on furnishing your property rentals.
Attract new professionals to the area
As a member of your local Chamber of Commerce (if you aren’t, you should be), you have a vested interest in bringing fresh new talent in all careers and industries to your area. Young professionals, particularly those that are unmarried or are without children, prefer finding housing that is furnished so that they can reduce their moving costs. Many couples use it as a stepping stone so that they have a furnished place to live while they work on establishing a more permanent residence.
If you have luxury or corporate style property to offer, furnishing it will allow you to charge up to 50% more per month for the duration of the lease. Even if you allow for a higher budget for higher-quality furniture, you will still recoup your costs quickly. You may have higher turnover, but you’ll also be more likely to stay booked, and at a higher rate.
Tip! While furnishing such homes, consider including utilities as well. Everyone loves simplified billing.
Help your community and have guaranteed rental income
You might think that furnishing a rental that will be occupied by a young family would be a waste of money, but it is actually very easy to build the cost of that furniture into the lease. These https://www.1stopbedrooms.com/living/living-room-furniture/living-room-sets living room set furniture are one example of an online furniture store that offers full furniture sets for as little as $600.
Offering a furnished home allows you to charge more for rent, even if you are accepting Section 8 or other housing assistance. These payments are very regular and guaranteed. You could charge $100 more per month for including furniture and household supplies, letting you come out ahead at the end of the 12-month lease. New tenants? New furniture. The furniture can be excluded from replacement or repair.
When word gets out that your homes are furnished, you’ll never have to worry about having a good tenant. It also takes some pressure off of the parents and reduces their moving costs, making it easier for them to keep up on rental payments.
Decrease pest control costs
No matter how hard people try, it is not difficult to bring pests along with you on a move. Bedbugs, roaches, and fleas can travel in furniture. Unless you have an addendum to your lease stating that you are not responsible for pest control, you should use every precaution to keep tenants from moving them in.
Furnishing the home is a great way to cut down on that risk. If your tenants are only bringing their clothing and personal belongings, it is much less likely that pests will follow. To be sure, you might want to arrange a pest control visit within the first few weeks of a new tenant’s arrival.
List with Air BnB during lapses in leases
Never worry about a lapse in rental income by listing your rental properties with Air BnB or similar sites. You can easily keep a luxury home furnished and ready for out of towners, or you can offer an affordable family-friendly option over a hotel or staying with family. Wedding parties may also engage your services.
If you are going to set up as an Air BnB, you should consider looking for living room sets that offer additional sleeping options. A reclining chair, a sleeper sofa, a chaise lounge, or modular sofas that can convert into beds are all great options.
Look for ways to include these items in other rooms as well. If the master bedroom is large enough, consider swapping out the bench or trunk at the end of the bed for a small sleeper sofa that could sleep a child or preteen. Swap out twin beds in kid’s rooms with bunk beds.
Any opportunity to add sleeping space will increase your chances of keeping your rental occupied at all times. Not to mention the fact that sites like Air BnB expect you to charge more for each additional occupant that you can accommodate. Again, this also makes you a popular choice for wedding parties and out of town attendees.
Tips for the highest return on investment
The key to being able to get a quick ROI on your furniture purchase, particularly if renting to families, is that you need to spend less on the furniture than you will add to the price of the monthly rent. This way you not only pay for the furniture, but actually earn additional income as a result.
To get the best prices on furniture, turn to the internet. You’ll be able to find online furniture stores with much larger selections and at much deeper discounts. The more furniture you buy at a time the bigger your savings. Online furniture stores also don’t charge for delivery, saving you even more. On the other hand, if you want that white-glove delivery service, they can accommodate by partnering with local providers.
You can take advantage of this opportunity to earn more from your properties even if you don’t have a lot of money to invest. The best and most reputable online furniture stores offer flexible payment plans through Affirm or other well-established financial partners. In this way you can pay for the furniture almost as the rent is being paid, keeping you from a large up front investment.
