Rent out furnished or unfurnished.

[DrJack54]

I did look at past threads regarding to rent out townhouse furnished or unfurnished. Seemed mainly about condo.

Real estate of course varies from condos to townhouse in gated community and houses etc. This place is located Bangna area Bangkok. 

This place is not in gated community and all surrounding homes identical. Many have had a makeover as indeed mine has. I attached pic of neighbors house to have an idea.

So any suggestions of which way to go re furniture appreciated. 

Also (rather than start separate topic), how do you guys find contacts for contractors such as electricians etc. One example is tree cutting/pruning services. Yes I have googled but certainly works differently in places like Oz when trying to obtain trades people.

Thanks for any advice. 

 

 

[BritManToo]

Cheap double bed and new mattress, small fridge and a sofa (possibly second hand).

Part furnished gives you the widest choice of tenants, and the minimum risk to loss/damage.

Gives them the choice of buying their own stuff, or living a minimalist Thai style life. 

 

That was the way I always liked to rent.

[teacherclaire]

You can ask for more money when you have furniture in it. And you can get pretty cheap, or second hand furniture.

 

    Plenty of FB websites where you can buy a lot of great stuff very cheap. Or Bahtsold. 

 

Regarding a good electrician, they are hard to find. Ask Thais and foreigners who live there.

Once you hear a company more often, choose them. 

[scammed]

i go with britman, furnished attracts more customers and justify a much higher price, but for example my gf flat out refused to rent to me on grounds

i am not a tidy person and would incur more cost than income

[Lacessit]

Good tenants will appreciate good fixtures and furniture, and pay more in rent for them. Low quality stuff gets low quality tenants. Not many tenants want the hassle of finding their own furniture in Thailand, when there are so many furnished places available.

Find a building company operating in the area, all building companies need electricians and plumbers.

[Kelsall]

27 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Cheap double bed and new mattress, small fridge and a sofa (possibly second hand).

Part furnished gives you the widest choice of tenants, and the minimum risk to loss/damage.

Gives them the choice of buying their own stuff, or living a minimalist Thai style life. 

 

That was the way I always liked to rent.

As a renter in Thailand this what I would like to see. I usually have them remove half the furniture in a completely furnished place. 

[Peterw42]

OP, what is the demographic for the area ? Is it families, young couples just starting out, share house where everyone works in the factory down the road, expats etc.

It ends up being a chicken or egg scenario, a young couple with no furniture probably dont want a 3 story townhouse, an established family probably have there own furniture. 

Work out who the tenants are and set up to suit them.

 

[ezzra]

As a landlord who has rented several apartments over the years, basic furniture always is a good idea, nothing too fancy or too cheap either but must include Fridge, TV, sofa, coffee table dining table and of course beds and cupboards, washing machine would help...

[DrJack54]

22 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

OP, what is the demographic for the area ? Is it families, young couples just starting out, share house where everyone works in the factory down the road, expats etc.

It ends up being a chicken or egg scenario, a young couple with no furniture probably dont want a 3 story townhouse, an established family probably have there own furniture. 

Work out who the tenants are and set up to suit them.

 

You make very valid points. I get the impression that it's Thai families and they own the homes. One thing that also puts in the shared home category is that all 3 bedrooms are large.

I'm leaning towards partially furnished. 

For example it has two largish living areas that if I provided a sofa and they didn't require one I could place it in second living area etc.

 

 

[scubascuba3]

It's a pity sellers don't take their cr*p furniture with them 

[jackdd]

I would let the first renter make the choice. Say price x for unfurnished, but for 1-2k more per month you will provide the basic furniture.

If you want to furnish it before you have a renter don't make the mistake of putting complete bedroom furniture in every "bedroom", not everybody stays with 6 people in a 3 bedroom house, but somebody might want to use the rooms for other purposes. I've not rented places because the landlord told me that he can't take the furniture out of one of the three bedrooms, which i wanted to use as kind of "office".

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, jackdd said:

I would let the first renter make the choice. Say price x for unfurnished, but for 1-2k more per month you will provide the basic furniture.

If you want to furnish it before you have a renter don't make the mistake of putting complete bedroom furniture in every "bedroom", not everybody stays with 6 people in a 3 bedroom house, but somebody might want to use the rooms for other purposes.

That's exactly my thinking. Especially in regards to bedrooms. Leaning towards furniture in one bedroom along with sofa L1 and if they have their own then can move one to living zone on L2 etc etc. Discuss with perspective tenant there requirements and go from there.

I guess I'm just trying to separate the place from the many others more than obtain higher rent.

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

As a landlord who has rented several apartments over the years, basic furniture always is a good idea, nothing too fancy or too cheap either but must include Fridge, TV, sofa, coffee table dining table and of course beds and cupboards, washing machine would help...

Would point  out  Thai people rarely use tables or chairs, my lot all sit on a floor mat.

And if your TV isn't a 65" or bigger, I'd prefer to buy my  own.

Most of the older Thais around me wash their clothes in a bowl in the driveway.

the students seem to pay a laundry.

 

Maybe you live in  a more hi--so area than Chiang Mai.

[LNKDES1]

On 1/1/2021 at 9:47 AM, DrJack54 said:

I did look at past threads regarding to rent out townhouse furnished or unfurnished. Seemed mainly about condo.

Real estate of course varies from condos to townhouse in gated community and houses etc. This place is located Bangna area Bangkok. 

This place is not in gated community and all surrounding homes identical. Many have had a makeover as indeed mine has. I attached pic of neighbors house to have an idea.

So any suggestions of which way to go re furniture appreciated. 

Also (rather than start separate topic), how do you guys find contacts for contractors such as electricians etc. One example is tree cutting/pruning services. Yes I have googled but certainly works differently in places like Oz when trying to obtain trades people.

Thanks for any advice. 

 

 

Can't they get em any closer?

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, LNKDES1 said:

Can't they get em any closer?

Pretty much the standard for single fronted townhouses both in places like Bangkok to Melbourne Au.

[1FinickyOne]

On 1/1/2021 at 1:08 PM, BritManToo said:

Maybe you live in  a more hi--so area than Chiang Mai.

he said Bang Na... not exactly Ruam Rudee or Pratu Thapae...

 

OP - if you are expecting farang tenants, you might want to wait and see if they have their own very narrow stuff... which might be likely as there are few new arrivals at the moment so your prospective people have probably been here a while... if Thai, a few basic pieces will be best... but, you have the oppt to offer an option at this point... 

[Pilotman]

On 1/1/2021 at 10:10 AM, scammed said:

i go with britman, furnished attracts more customers and justify a much higher price, but for example my gf flat out refused to rent to me on grounds

i am not a tidy person and would incur more cost than income

nobody is getting a 'higher price' on rentals just now, just because it may be furnished.  Be competitive and provide something different, such as higher quality fixtures and fittings, especially for a town house and I presume,  no garden, then  just maybe, you will get lucky in renting out. Don't be Thai owner and price yourself out of a good tenant.  Renters have lots of choices right now and that is likely to continue for a long time.  

[scammed]

2 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

nobody is getting a 'higher price' on rentals just now, just because it may be furnished.  Be competitive and provide something different, such a higher quality fixtures and fittings, especially for a town house and I presume,  no garden, then  just maybe, you will get lucky in renting out. Don't be Thai owner and price yourself out of a good tenant.  Renters have lots of choices right now and that is likely to continue for a long time.  

the point was, that the stuff in the condo would be expensive to repair and clean up

and she didnt think for a single second that i would take care of her condo, so ultimately its a safeguard to have relatively cheap stuff that can be tossed out after a year without costing an arm and a leg

[Olmate]

What rent would you be expecting, then decide if furnished would be required to achieve that price.

[Pilotman]

6 minutes ago, scammed said:

the point was, that the stuff in the condo would be expensive to repair and clean up

and she didnt think for a single second that i would take care of her condo, so ultimately its a safeguard to have relatively cheap stuff that can be tossed out after a year without costing an arm and a leg

then sit back and wait,  I hope the OP is patient, it may be a long one. 

[Pilotman]

On 1/1/2021 at 1:08 PM, BritManToo said:

Would point  out  Thai people rarely use tables or chairs, my lot all sit on a floor mat.

And if your TV isn't a 65" or bigger, I'd prefer to buy my  own.

Most of the older Thais around me wash their clothes in a bowl in the driveway.

the students seem to pay a laundry.

 

Maybe you live in  a more hi--so area than Chiang Mai.

yep, they are really the type of tenants you need, hardly out of the village!! 

[Pilotman]

5 minutes ago, Olmate said:

What rent would you be expecting, then decide if furnished would be required to achieve that price.

haha, good one.  My mate just rented a house on a one year contract.  HE told the owner what he wanted  and what rent he was prepared to pay for that level of property.  After 3  tries with different owners, a sensible owner (Thai ) provided what he wanted and at the price that he as a renter was prepared to pay.  Now the owner has a good tenant who will respect the property and take care of it and maybe stay for more than one year.  That is the market we have right now. Like I said before for the OP, don't price yourself  out of the market by being too pedantic on what you will provide for what price. 

[Pmbkk]

We have a few condos in BKK which we rent out.

 

I believe my biggest mistake was furnishing them to a high standard.

 

I don’t believe you ever recoup the cost over a reduction in rent.

 

The other issue is that others may have different tastes and ask for stuff to be removed - which you then have to store.

 

I’d go very basic or no furniture in my experience.

[DrJack54]

Thanks for all the advice above. 

Just to clarify slightly......I have always been a believer in chasing higher rent is not best option. Obtaining a reliable good tenant is #1.

Good advice has been given on furnished or not. The idea behind providing furniture was to provide point of difference in a crowded rental market place. 

I appreciate I did not receive rotten tomatoes for reason of buying condo in Thai partners name. This was never a money making scheme. 

So plan now is to provide some furniture with option for tenant to ask for more if required.

It's quite a large joint so that furniture could be used by us if we decide to live in it in few years time.

Again thanks for the advice. I have had few threads in electrical forum and DIY etc.

Have been blown away by all the helpful advice. Ta

[DrJack54]

Just tacking this question on to my old thread.

So the townhouse is ready for rent.

It needs one week to clean etc and tidy up bits and pieces.

The first person to look wants it.

Problem is he wants to start the rent agreement from April 1, as he is giving months rent at his current condo.

I woul of imagined that paying rent from say March 1 (17 days from now) would be normal.

Any thoughts appreciated. 

BTW he wants to give agent one months rent today hence the urgency. 

[scubascuba3]

Get off to a good start with the tenant and agree to 1 April (April fools, does he know?), alternatively meet in the middle. Depends how easy it is to find a tenant, you could wait for another few months

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Just tacking this question on to my old thread.

So the townhouse is ready for rent.

It needs one week to clean etc and tidy up bits and pieces.

The first person to look wants it.

Problem is he wants to start the rent agreement from April 1, as he is giving months rent at his current condo.

I woul of imagined that paying rent from say March 1 (17 days from now) would be normal.

Any thoughts appreciated. 

BTW he wants to give agent one months rent today hence the urgency. 

 

Are you likely to rent it out to anyone else in that time ?

 

You want to the tenant to pay rent from 1st March? - if he won’t will he look else where?

The Tenant doesn’t want to pay ‘double’ (i.e. for the place he is in and your place) - thats understandable.

 

Will the tenant provide a full security deposit  (2 months) - then you have a confirmed tenant and can sit back and relax. 

 

IF the ’new’ tenant can’t provide a 2 month security deposit, then he has only committed with the agent, not with you, thus you can still advertise the property.

 

The first Months rent goes to the Agent - thus, the Agent should take their payment on April 1st (move in date) and not in advance. 

 

 

 

 

[DrJack54]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

The tenant doesn’t want to pay ‘double’ (i.e. for the place he is in and your place) - thats understandable.

You make some valid points. However just to select the one I quote above .... It is very much one way street in this case. The place is available end next week. So approx 5+ weeks till April 1 (when he wants to start lease).

I'm thinking lease should start March 15. He actually moves out of current condo March 25.

Certainly works differently here than in Oz, guess that's due to incredibly tight rental market there.