The reality is that it’s up to you. In Florida, the landlord isn’t required to provide a furnished or unfurnished place. It’s about what will work best for you and what will give the landlord the lowest possible vacancy rate.
There are pros and cons to both. You should know about these before making a decision.
What Exactly is a Furnished Apartment?
A furnished apartment contains basic things a tenant might need to live worry-free. There are three types of furnished apartments, and you should know all three.
Furnished Apartment
You’ll usually find the following in a furnished apartment:
- Essential kitchen appliances, usually small
- A bed
- A few chairs
- A table in the dining room
- One or two couches
- Coffee tables
For appliances, most landlords include things like a toaster, a microwave, and a coffee maker.
Semi-Furnished Apartment
This option normally includes the following:
- A working stove
- A small to medium fridge
- A few tables
- Bed
- A couch or two
Sometimes, a landlord adds a few additional things, like cooking utensils, but it’s not mandatory. Basic kitchen appliances are usually included.
Fully-Furnished Apartment
With this apartment, you give tenants more than just the basics mentioned above. You’ll offer things like the following:
- Silverware
- Pots and pans
- Dishes
- Blankets
- Towels
Landlords provide top-of-the-line items in a fully-furnished apartment.
Everything is high quality, including the basic additions, like the stove and microwave. Landlords sometimes even decorate the rooms a bit. A washer and dryer are sometimes added to these types of apartments, but not always.
Benefits of Renting Out a Furnished Place
1. Landlords can authorize the property managers to charge more since the units are furnished.
The higher rent can cover the cost of these additions and also cover the loss of renting out to mostly short-term tenants.
Landlords can also ask for a bigger deposit. As you know, deposits are there to help cover excessive damage, and with a furnished apartment, there’s more to damage.
2. Offering a furnished apartment could help with your taxes at the end of the year.
Some things you buy may be depreciable. The IRS considers something depreciable if the following is met:
- It should last more than a year.
- It has to be of value to the business.
- It’ll lose value as time goes on.
It’s evident that the furniture and appliances purchased for the apartment fit those requirements.
3. Furnished places look very attractive. It’s the job of a property management team to make a rental property desirable.
Furnished apartments sell themselves, especially if the property is thoughtfully furnished with the help of an interior decorator. These types of apartments are popular with first-time renters like students.
Drawbacks of Renting Out a Furnished Place
1. With more of your stuff in the apartment, you risk more.
No matter how thorough the property management team is at screening tenants, the risk of damage is heightened. Even with a security deposit, having to replace things constantly is no fun.
2. Furnished places usually appeal to short-term renters.
This is good and bad. Good because you’ll always find someone to take the place, but bad because you have to spend more on constant advertising.
What’s an Unfurnished Apartment?
It’s exactly what it sounds like, a place with nothing in it. Tenants will have to bring what they need. There are pros and cons to renting an unfurnished home you should know about.
Perks of Renting Out an Unfurnished Place
1. You won’t be responsible for much. You don’t have to worry about the furniture or the appliances because they belong to your tenants. That peace of mind can feel pretty good.
Sometimes, tenants believe that the landlord’s insurance will cover their belongings should something happen. This is a costly mistake you can help avoid.
It’s better to require tenants to purchase renter’s insurance to cover their belongings should something happen, like vandalism or weather-related damage, which is a big deal here in Florida.
2. An unfurnished place can be personalized easily. Tenants love to make their apartments feel like home, and that can only be done when it’s unfurnished. This usually makes tenants stay longer since the place feels like it’s theirs.
3. To get a unit ready for new tenants, property managers have to do a lot. The list of things to do is considerably smaller with an unfurnished place. This means it’ll be ready faster and with less money.
Cons of Renting Out an Unfurnished Place
1. Rent should be lower than what one would pay for a furnished dwelling. Those who were hoping to get more out of their property will probably be unable to.
2. An unfurnished place won’t attract short-term renters. That’s a good chunk of people your place will not appeal to, no matter how good your property management team is. This means it’s going to take longer to fill vacancies.
At the end of the day, it depends on your property. A property management company can help you figure out what would work best for you, depending on the property’s location and the type of renters there. Still, it’s an exciting time to be a landlord in Florida, where the rental market is only growing.
