Furnished apartments for people new in a city

I’ve just bought an apartment in Nürnberg, which I’ll live in for a while, but have a master plan to rent it out furnished when I’m finished in Nürnberg. And see how the rental income compares to the mortgage payments.

The target market is contractors who’ve just arrived here and are looking for a comfortable furnished place for a few months or years. Like a lot of us where before not managing to leave.

So what furnishings in the apartment would cause you to pay over the odds if looking for a place?

I intend to get an ok fitted kitchen although I don’t think that’s high on the list of priorities of a probably male contractor just arrived. I’m pretty sure they’d appreciate a washing machine unless flying home every weekend. A dishwasher would also probably be nice.

In the living room a bed sofa so they have extra sleep capacity if a friend visits. However I’m pretty sure the most important thing is a pretty good TV, HD ready 42�, bluray player, and satellite TV to get lots of English channels. The living room BTW is 5m by 5m so don’t think there’s much point going over 42�, maybe even 37� is ok?

How about a water bed rather than a standard Ikea bed?

I’m seriously looking for suggestions to maximise the rent from probably English speaking, probably male well paid contractors just arrived in the city.

The thing not to forget mate is that if you rent out furnished then you are responsible when something breaks on them.You rent say with a 106cm tele and it braeks down then you are responsible for getting a new one in and yes it has to be comparable

Thanks Mik, you're right the maintanance costs are higher, but that's hopefully why the rent will also be higher. And I guess your comment has talked me into buying an adequete (Euro 800) rather than a superb (Euro 2000) TV.

Any other comments, in particular on what furnishing would entice you to pay more?

we have a property rented out to contractors.

as you say a washing machine is certainly a great idea, as is extra bedding for visitors.
a well equiped kitchen is essential, particularly with a microwave; after coming home after working long hours, convenience food is a must!

wouldn't splash out on over-pricey stuff, in case it gets broken as Mik says.

English telly is a great idea!
good luck!

Need to think about the furnishing...

I would try to include plenty of detailed information in English on the area where the apartment is located. Tips on anything from shops to what to do with the trash to where you can park the car. Maybe try to figure out if there are English-speaking contacts at places which can be tedious to deal with if you can't speak the language like banks or T-Punkts.

Ok so, washing machine, microwave, spare bed/clothes, and English telly. Glad nobody proposed a clothes dryer, can't stand the things.

Its got a nice big South facing balcony. Balcony furniture or hammock?

Dishwasher?

Balcony furniture & a dishwasher...both are necessities for a good apartment.

Don't forget adequate storage! A handy place for coats and boots near the entrance would also be good. And some out-of-the-way spot for garbage and gelb sac bags. Dryer isn't a must, but you could also get a combo clothes washer/dryer that does both but only takes up the same space as one machine. There are some folks out there who might appreciate being able to dry stuff quickly or overnight. I like ours, since I can set it to wash and automatically go to dryer mode without my having to do anything. Very convenient for socks.

Flat-rate DSL.

I know that people can get it installed themselves, but if you just have it running, then your tenants have it switched on from the day they arrive and don't have to shop around in another city/country, not understanding how to find the best subscription, and then how to cancel the connection and how minimum notice periods work here.

You can easily add this cost to the rent.

I've just called Telecom about their TV and DVDs online offer. With VDSL25 for Euro 60 per month you get up to 25Mb/s, 70 HD TV channels, and 4600 DVD titles. There are about 5 english language TV channels.

The DVDs cost between euro 0.99, and euro 4.99 per title. And they are only in German. WTF Only in German??? It seemed a nice idea having 4600 DVDs online, but surely even some Germans would want to watch a film in orginal language, especially if they spoke it well. The nice salesowman agreed everything dubbed in German was unattractive to native english speakers, but said she had no idea if Telekom planned to change their policy.

And what's the point? Surely multiple languages take up relatively little server space in comparisoon to picture, and have no effect on banwidth, because you'll still only get one language.

Check Alice, they have TV packages as well.

I'd second the flat-rate DSL suggestion, have internet already set up is fantastic. But while you're at it, what about setting up a free phone line too? Depends on how short-term you're thinking...

We've just signed for a package with Alice, and decided to pay extra for unlimited calls to Europe, USA, China and some other countries I can't remember. It costs around 46 euro per month for flat rate internet + phone, the unlimited phone calls part of the bill was 14 euro extra.

Not sure if you could or would want to block the non-free numbers though, otherwise you're liable for all sorts of calls made.

My o-h has done this with his. I've also stayed in them too.

The kitchen *always* matters. It needs to be decent / good. Dishwasher is standard now - not a special add on. Don't miss the basics - coffee machine, toaster etc.

How about a workspace if the contractor is your market - decent desk and chair? Ideally, you'd go for four clearly defined living areas - eating, relaxing (living room), outdoor, work.

Lots of lighting options too (standing lamps as well as fixtures). Lots of mirrors - at least one full length. Fully functioning shutters.

There also needs to be good quality bathroom fittings - with separate bath tub and shower. Noone wants a dingy bathroom!

Some stuff that is part of the build also counts - separate WC for guests, parking place etc.