Renting a flat - do I put in beds?

LouC

Hi there - i'm renting a flat for the first time. It's a nice place, two bedroom townhouse terrace in N.London. We're painting, repairing, putting new carpets in. In the bedrooms we're going to get some IKEA stuff - a wardrobe and drawers in each. We're hoping for a prof couple/ 2 singles. Except we don't know what to do about beds. We're taking our bed as it cost £600, and the bed in the second room is falling apart.

So, should we get new beds? How much should we spend? What do we do if we spend money on new ones but the tenants want to bring their own?

Any advise greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Lou

olly300

It depends how you are renting it out.

Are you renting it furnished or unfurnished?

Plus it's normally better to get tenants to buy chest of drawers themselves as they have a habit of falling apart whether they are from Ikea or not.

Geenie

Hi there Lou, I'm confused!! Do you own this flat and are letting it out to tenants, or are you renting the flat yourself to live in, and intend to sub let the spare room?

You have to make sure that if you do provide beds, the mattresses and other things like sofas comply with fire safety rules.It would make sense to supply beds if supplying wardrobes and drawers already.

skint-student-nurse

when a friend went to a letting agency about their flat, they were told a property is more likely to get tenants in if it is left unfurnished. HTH!

pinkshoes

Just put some carpets in, and rent it out completely unfurnished if you're hoping for a professional couple. People who have their own furniture are more likely to stay for longer too, as they won't want the hassle of moving again.

Mathew

skint-student-nurse wrote: »

when a friend went to a letting agency about their flat, they were told a property is more likely to get tenants in if it is left unfurnished. HTH!

I agree, I recently had an estate agent round who told me to leave it unfurnised as from experience people tend to want to funish with thier own things!
Makes a difference with insurance to!

Doozergirl

You'll never recoup the outlay on furniture as a furnished place doesn't attract much more rent than an unfurnished one. There are also responsibilities that you have to provide safe items in terms of health and safety - if they die from the result of a particularly flammable item of furniture you'd have to show due diligence to stop yourself from being prosecuted.

I hate laminate but if you are letting the property then not only are you better leaving it unfurnished but you will get a lot less wear and tear with a half decent laminate flooring (bit of a contradiction in terms) than you will with carpet.

When your second set of tenants come to view the place, it will look newer and tenants in general will find it easier to take care of. I have a mix of real wood and carpet in my own home and would never lay laminate but when we rented a while back, I preferred it to carpet as it was really easy to clean, I didn't shudder at the thought of other people's dead skin etc in the old carpet and I could lay rugs on it to add my own personal touch as well rather than put up with cheap or dodgy-taste carpet.

socrates

I think when it comes to furniture and the current climate its best to adopt a wait and see attitude i.e see who comes along, see what they actually need if they do ask for furniture - they may not.

Whatever you do - do not buy furniture in advance.

More important are Gas Safety Certificate and letting your insurer know, so that you are properly covered for letting to tenants. Also make sure you insist on some kind of Homelet type insurance how ever nice they may seem.

You could also go for an Electric Safety Certificate - not legally required but good for peace of mind and while the electrician is there get him to install heat sensors and smoke alarms linked to electricity not battery operated.

You need an EPC - if you ignore this you could face a fine!

hethmar

Thats a difficult one because when my son was renting his flat, all the young professionals wanted a bed in situ. They didnt want the hassle of having to buy furniture and move it with them, ditto other furnishings like sofas and kitchen equipment.

olly300

hethmar wrote: »

Thats a difficult one because when my son was renting his flat, all the young professionals wanted a bed in situ. They didnt want the hassle of having to buy furniture and move it with them, ditto other furnishings like sofas and kitchen equipment.

It really depends on the age of the people you are renting to.

If they are in their early 20s they tend not to have their own furniture if they are older they normally have furniture of their own or can easily acquire some.

I suggest you speak to a few estate agents and letting agents (you don't have to use them ) to see what they suggest is right for the area you are in.

hethmar

Yes I spose it depends on whether they see renting as a long term option - in which case they may have their own stuff - or short term, as in the case of a young professional.