If you’ve just bought a property as a buy to let you will probably be looking to furnish it on a budget. This could also be the case if you’ve just bought a property as a home, however as you are likely to be furnishing your home to your own tastes, this advice is probably more likely to be of relevance to investors.
Who the most likely tenants for your property are will affect the type of furnishing required but given most landlords would like to get as high a rent as possible it is worth putting in a bit of extra effort, to make sure the items you buy, whilst being cheap, still look good and make your property look expensive.
A great way to do this is to use ebay.
This may sound like a lot of effort but we’re not suggesting you do this for everything, just a few key items. Things such as dinning tables, coffee tables, chairs etc. can all be really expensive, even for very cheap looking ones made of plastic, however on ebay good quality items that will make a living or dining room look much more welcoming can be found for a fraction of the price.
The great thing about getting these sorts of items from ebay is they’ll be more unique making your property look special and stand out from all of the other rental properties with the exact same discount furniture.
There are also some suppliers we’ve found that are particularly good for certain types of furnishing at low prices (but that don’t look cheap). These furnishings and suppliers are:
Beds and matresses – WorldStores. Usually quite a bit cheaper than IKEA for these items. We have had numerous issues with delivery being late (up to a week at times) in the past however their prices are so good we still go back.
Curtains and Blinds – B&Q and Homebase. The cheapest ranges will probably look it, but for only a little bit more curtains and blinds can be found in both of these shops that will look good whilst still being fairly cheap.
Bedding – Argos. Not usually required but can help dress a place. Argos do very reasonably priced plain bedding options that can be made to look more interesting with some bright cushions.
Cushions and throws – Homebase. These can really make a property look more inviting and the ones at Homebase are very cheap but don’t look it.
This obviously still leaves a number of other items such as wardrobes, draws etc. for which a large reasonably priced retailer such as IKEA is probably the best place to go but if at all possible buy the range above the cheapest. It will make your property look just that bit nicer than another and therefore, even if it’s not enough to make someone pay more each month, it will make renting your property an easier “yes” than another.