Help your landlord to decide on whether they should let their property on an unfurnished or furnished basis.
Whether a landlord lets their property furnished or unfurnished will depend on a number of factors. It is your job as a real estate agent to advise your landlord of their options in order to make sure the property generates a good rental yield. Consider these following points when advising them.
1. Will furniture affect the rental amount?
Assess where the market demand is and whether providing furniture will generate more rent. You will need to get the landlord to calculate the cost of furniture as part of their overall costs, but there are many furniture companies out there which provide furniture packages especially for rental properties, which makes things a bit easier.
2. Do the furnishings influence potential void periods?
Likewise is there more demand for furnished or unfurnished properties? This could influence how quickly the property lets and should be factored in to the overall annual costs of the property.
3. Do electrical items need to be provided?
Whilst on the whole it is standard to provide white goods such as a washing machine, air conditioning, fridge and oven, extra items such as televisions, lamps and small kitchen appliances like kettles and toaster will vary. It is important to remind your landlord that by providing these items, they will need to replace them should they get broken.
4. Consider your landlord’s market.
Units in the centre of the city are more likely to attract professional tenants who want the ease of everything from sofas to towels being provided. Whereas houses in the suburbs are likely to be rented by a family who have their own furniture. The property will dictate what market you are aiming for and whether they require furniture or not.
5. Is the tenancy length affected?
Unfurnished properties tend to experience longer tenancy terms. The reason for this is that once a tenant has purchased all their furniture and has moved it all in, they are less likely to be in a hurry to move again. They have made a big investment and it is not as easy to move than with just suitcases.
6. Don’t forget window dressings.
Even in an unfurnished property window dressings need to be provided. Advise the landlord of their best options from black out curtains to blinds.
7. Remind them to be flexible.
The best piece of advice to give to your landlord is to remind them to be flexible, where possible. Considering each offer on their individual merits is important if an offer has been made subject to certain conditions relating to furnishings. That way you can let their property quicker.
