# Need to furnish a house for rent - any advice?



## DannyBoy (2 Sep 2010)

Hi folks,

I've moved out of Ireland and I need to furnish the house I bought in order to rent it. As you can imagine the money is tight, and I'm looking for advice for reasonable furniture stores in and around Dublin.

I had a look at Ikea but to be honest the furniture looks so bad I'm afraid prospective tenants would be put off by it. 

I don't want to spend a fortune, but it can't look "cheap".

Thanks!


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## millieforbes (2 Sep 2010)

I think the key is to mix and match - lots of things in Ikea look great (eg kitchens with high gloss finish, a lot of their storage, rugs, lamps etc) but some of the veneers on bookcases etc are less good. The same is true of Argos. You could probably pick up a silentnight bed in Argos for quite a reasonable price if you wait for the sale

Harvey Norman have some good deals in their sales too - if you're not very fussy about particular colours or styles that might be a good option


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## Murfnm (2 Sep 2010)

Buy and Sell or Done Deal?


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## alaskaonline (2 Sep 2010)

Bargaintown have Sales on at the moment. Bought a bunk bed there the other day. Also bought two years ago my bed there. No hassle, quick delivery, good prices.

Electrical applicanes - I bought them in Harvey Normans, also during Sales period.


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## sam h (2 Sep 2010)

Danny,

Ikea tend to have 3 ranges, budget, std & higher end (not delux but....)

The budget range is rubbish.

The std & higher end are actually quiet good.  The std would be ideal in a rental property.  It is not worth buying really expensive things to put in a rental, better to get mid range & replace more often.  Most tenants (not all) will not look after your property in the same way you would.

I have put alot of the mid range stuff into rental properties & they are fine, plus you can mix and match pieces so you will still get something to match even in a few years time.

I find the likes of Bargaintown have 2 lines - cheap & cheaper.  They will fall apart without too much effort.

You could look about for 2nd hand stuff but I tend to find this is time consuming (plus make sure you get a reciept from the person.


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## alaskaonline (2 Sep 2010)

> sam h;I find the likes of Bargaintown have 2 lines - cheap & cheaper.  They will fall apart without too much effort.


 my bed seems fine.....


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## IrishAussie (2 Sep 2010)

Murfnm said:


> Buy and Sell or Done Deal?


 
I agree with Murfnm buy secondhand. Look in local papers as you can get great quality furniture when people are immigrating.
Good luck.


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## pixiebean22 (3 Sep 2010)

adverts.ie, freetrade.ie (used to be part of DCC website I think), donedeal, gumtree, you will find second hand stuff which is generally of good quality for at least a third of the price it sells for in the shops.

I have used freetrade twice so far this year (once to give something away and once to get something) and both worked out fine, with no problems.  Also if you're looking for someone to pick up and deliver the goods you'll find ads for "man with van" on gumtree for around €40/€50, obviously this would be if you have loads of stuff to collect.


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## canicemcavoy (3 Sep 2010)

alaskaonline said:


> Bargaintown have Sales on at the moment.


 
The OP thinks that Ikea furniture doesn't look great - I shudder to think what would think of Bargaintown....


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## foxylady (3 Sep 2010)

Would you not try rent it unfurnished? As for worrying about the furniture dont go mad spending. we rented a house and the beds in it were in bits, and this was one of the better house we looked at at the time


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## Knuttell (3 Sep 2010)

canicemcavoy said:


> The OP thinks that Ikea furniture doesn't look great - I shudder to think what would think of Bargaintown....



Agree 100%,Ikea is perfectly good quality furniture regardless of if its to be used in a rental or indeed your PPR,everything they sell is of a very high standard but at a very good price,I think some people are still caught in the tiger years,unless some tat has a big sticker price it must be crap.

The days of firing some second hand mismatched furniture into a rental is  gone,people have so much more choice,sure you will save ducats on sourcing it from a skip,see how long you will be waiting to get a tenant though......false economy.


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## stephen1381 (4 Sep 2010)

For stuff that will catch the eye of the prospective tenants like sofas should be of good quality, go for second hand stuff. Then you could buy cheaper stuff in Bargaintown/Ikea/Argos.

I will be renting out my house, I never planned on renting it out and I have really nice furniture, dread to think what will happen to it


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## Yorrick (5 Sep 2010)

I know where you are coming from on this. At present it is a renters market.  To get good tenants you must provide a good product. Have a good look around the house first. Anywhere you can put in a built in unit, do so. This will be a permanent structure and can be freshened up with a chage of colour etc.
You can get some very good second hand furniture off the websites. Often free to take away. But if you have it well furnished make sure you have an inventory, take digital photos of the items and insist on the deposit. Be prepared to deduct from the deposit for normal wear and tear. Keep receipts and make use of capital allowances.
I wasn't shifing my property so I had a good refurbishment, put it on daft with photos and got a very good tenant with several more disappointed callers


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