Is a fully furnished home worth its price? The difference between a bare or semi-furnished home and a fully furnished one with all the right fixtures and fittings can go up to tens of thousands of dollars. That money can go into your retirement savings or small business venture or emergency fund. So, while the idea of moving into a fully furnished home is appealing, you have to think twice before signing the papers.
Most people don’t have enough time to think about home decorations, fixtures, and fittings when looking for a home. After all, they have to worry about the mortgage and the loan application that they barely have their minds on the kind of fixtures the house will come with. But this is a rookie mistake made by millions of first-time homebuyers.
That’s not to say that a fully furnished home isn’t a practical choice for busy urbanites. The problem is when potential buyers don’t weigh the pros and cons. A fully furnished home is more expensive compared to the bare one. However, decorating a bare house and putting all modern fixtures in place will cost a lot more. At the same time, if the buyers are handy around the house, they might save more if they buy a bare one.
What Do You Need?
There is a huge difference between buying a fully furnished home where you have everything you need as opposed to buying one that’s filled with useless stuff. If you are not careful, you can end up buying a home wherein half the things and fixtures are useless or need major repair and replacement. Yes, it is OK to get a water heater replacement because it’s one of the top things you want in a house. But finding out you’re without a stove, too? Now, that’s a major hassle.
Part of the reason you bought a home that has fixtures, fittings, and furniture is because of convenience. And yet, many horror stories tell of garage sales and charity donations because almost everything in their homes is of no use to them. That’s what you’ll get if you don’t hire a trustworthy broker and if you didn’t take the time to tour (even virtually) the home before you make an offer.
Knowing What You Want
One homebuyer made the mistake of buying a 107-year-old home that has all the fixtures and furnishing. What the buyer didn’t think about is how old the fixtures are. By the time the new homeowners finished clearing out the house, they’re left with less than half of the furniture they paid for. They’ve had to buy a new sofa, a new oven, more energy-efficient lightbulbs, and many other things. The house is unrecognizable from how it looked with its former owner.
The lesson here is to ask the seller to remove things you don’t want or don’t need. If you don’t want the old oven in the kitchen, say so. If you plan to renovate the kitchen, then tell that to the broker. Make sure that you aren’t paying for things you don’t want and need. It’s a waste of time to find a buyer or donate these things to charity.
What Most Homebuyers Want
Are you like the majority of homebuyers? Studies showed that homebuyers are only willing to pay a premium price if they get what they want—modern equipment. While they also want vintage tables, bookcases, and bureaus, the same cannot be said when they start to consider major house fixtures such as the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and plumbing systems. These are the components of one’s home that must always be up-to-date.
Unless you absolutely do not have the time to decorate your own home, the inability to do so is one of the major drawbacks of buying a fully furnished home. For many, part of the charm of buying and owning a home is the freedom to choose the furniture and fixtures according to one’s preferences. If they cannot do this to a home that they are paying for from their hard-earned money, then the idea of a fully furnished home will not appeal to them.
Picking a house—whether a duplex or detached or bare or fully furnished—is about what you want, what you can afford, and what fits your lifestyle. Ultimately, you’ll have to stay in this house for decades. Is it truly worth it to move into a home that you didn’t even decorate? Is it practical? When you know the answer to these, then you’re ready to make a decision.
