Renting a furnished apartment: How should you choose

Renting a furnished apartment can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the apartment itself. If you choose well, a furnished apartment can save you a lot of time and effort, especially when moving to a new country.

Furnished apartments give you the gifts of time and mobility, you can enjoy a hassle-free move; just pack your personal stuff and go. And they are also handy when you are living temporarily in a city as buying a lot of furniture is not a good idea if you will only live in the city for a few years.

Fully furnished apartments usually offer the key things that make a house livable, and some even offer more than that, they offer what makes a house a very luxurious home.

So how to choose the perfect furnished apartment to rent, here is our guide.

Rent is always a keyword

When renting a furnished apartment, or any other apartment for that matter, rent must be your first priority. Depending on your budget you can either choose to rent a studio with basic furniture or a fancy apartment with modern appliances and premium decor.

Decide how much you can spend on rent and do not overspend under any circumstances. Keep in mind that you should never spend more than 30% of your monthly income on rent. Although this can be stretched to 35% in the case of furnished apartments if the rent is all-inclusive and covers all utilities, amenities, and maintenance.

Check the amenities in the building

Since renting a furnished apartment often costs more than renting an unfurnished one, you need to make sure that you are getting value for your money.

What sort of amenities are offered in the building? What shape and condition are they in?

When you walk through the apartment take a look at the amenities of the building. Ask the landlord to show you around.

Are pets allowed?

If you have a pet or planning to get one then this is something that you should definitely consider. Before you consider renting a furnished apartment ask about their pet policy as some furnished apartments do not allow pets at all and some only allow some pets like fish tanks but do not allow cats and dogs.

As most of us consider our pets family members you have to make sure this family member is allowed in your new home.

How furnished is the furnished apartment?

Even though they all include furniture and appliances, furnished apartments are not equal, some of them only include the necessities like beds, sofas, and kitchen cabinets while others are impeccably decorated with carpets and lamps and all.

If this doesn’t really matter to you it’s okay, but you still need to know what you are paying for.

Some people prefer getting an apartment with only the basics so they can add their personal touch to it, and others would rather not worry about anything and do not want the place to look bare, it is a matter of personal preference.

Furniture quality

The furniture in furnished apartments is typically chosen for durability rather than a luxury which is perfectly fine. You just need to inspect it to make sure that it is in fact durable.

Take a look at the mattress, check the springs of the sofa, check the chairs to see if they wobble and the appliances to make sure that they work properly. If you like the apartment but some things in it are not up to par talk to the landlord and ask if they are willing to replace those things or fix them.

Security deposit

It is customary for tenants to pay a security deposit when renting a furnished apartment. This deposit is used to cover any damages the tenant may cause to the apartment or the furniture.

When renting a furnished apartment, you should always be careful not to cause damage to any furniture, or else you would have to pay for the damage caused.

However, you need to make sure to complete a full walk-through with the landlord before you move in, noting the condition of everything. It is also a good idea to include a written and photo inventory when moving in and moving out.

Excessive furniture

When you do the walkthrough, ask the landlord to remove and store any furniture or appliances you will not be using.

Even though the landlord will not take anything out of the rent for that, it is still a good idea. This way you are not responsible for maintaining this item you will not be using, it is not sitting there taking space in your apartment and the landlord is responsible for storing it properly.

How much do you like it?

At the end this is what it comes down to, do you like the apartment? Can you picture yourself living in it?

If that is the case then go on, this is the most important factor. Take the other factors into consideration though before you sign the contract.

If you are looking for an apartment to rent in any of the areas of the Kingdom of Bahrain, you can check our updated listings here.

To learn more about renting an apartment see also: