Should You Sell Your Home Bare, Unfinished, Semi-Furnished, or Fully Furnished?

Have you decided to sell your home? Great! One of the many factors that sellers consider when listing their homes is choosing whether they should offer their house bare, unfurnished, semi-furnished, or fully furnished. If you’re wondering about the same thing, we’ll discuss each type in detail so you can make an informed decision before looking for buyers.

But First, Why Sell Your Home?

Selling a home is a huge life event. It can be challenging, especially if you have lots of good memories living in it. But when some life circumstances affect your priorities or income, selling a home could be the best option. We recommend that you sell your home and earn at the same time if you plan/want/need to:

• Relocate (e.g., whether in a different state or country, for work, to start anew, live closer to relatives, etc.)
• Move to a bigger property
• Downgrade your lifestyle
• Move on from a divorce or traumatic event
• Capitalize on the increasing demand for properties
• Avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy

Also, competition is low at the moment, which means the home prices could go higher than usual, while the interest rates of mortgage rates remain low, which can be extremely beneficial for buyers.

How Should You Offer Your Home?

Are you ready to discuss your options? Let’s get straight into it.

1. Bare

Some people think thank bare and unfurnished properties are the same, but they’re actually not. You won’t see anything in a bare home aside from the home structure itself and the main door. Even the bathrooms and kitchen usually remain at the concrete stage. And since they’re literally empty, bare houses could be perfect for buyers who prefer to start from scratch and take care of every detail of their home. Another advantage is, potential buyers can visit a bare home at a moment’s notice since there’s no preparation time needed for viewings. However, if you live in that home, you may need to spend some time removing furnishings and doing repairs (if necessary) since bareness usually highlights imperfections.

Just take note that bare homes are harder to market at a higher price, but this could be a positive thing especially when attracting homebuyers who are in search of properties with lower price tags. Additionally, some buyers who want to purchase a home to live in as soon as possible may resort to semi-furnished to fully-furnished homes to save time on designing and decorating the property.

2. Unfurnished

Unlike bare homes, an unfurnished house comes with some fixtures that help identify certain parts of the property. These may include painted walls and ceilings, floorings, bathroom fixtures, fitted kitchen cabinets and sink, and electrical wirings, outlets, and internal doors.

These homes appear cleaner and more spacious, and they’re less expensive and more convenient to market. A selling point for these houses is that they can be whatever the buyer wants them to be, without the need to start from zero. For example, they can easily convert some spaces other than the kitchens and bathrooms without worrying about basic home features.

3. Semi-furnished

Meanwhile, a semi-furnished home gives off a feel of completeness with a little more room for customizations and personal touches. They often come with painted walls, fixtures, basic pieces of furniture (e.g., bed, sofa, tables, chairs, dressers, etc.), and sometimes even appliances. Homebuyers perceive these types of homes as livable, especially if you will avail home stating services for viewings.

At the same time, tastefully selected and carefully positioned furnishings generally increases the appeal and value of the property. They can show the potential buyer how spaces within the house could be best utilized, and they can also cover up imperfections such as stains and chipped paint.

4. Fully furnished

Usually, the features you can find in semi-furnished homes are also available in fully furnished ones, plus decorations, carpeting, and all other features. These may include beds with complete sets of sheets and comforters, paintings, curtains, etc. Just like in semi-furnished homes, you can earn more in fully furnished homes because the overall value of the property increases.

Fully furnished homes are extremely attractive to buyers, especially those who want to purchase properties as soon as possible, because they can conveniently move in without thinking of heavy pieces of decors or furniture, selling fully furnished homes can be expensive, especially if you will replace old stuff in your home or do some renovations. In addition, because everything’s done, some furnishings could also deter a potential buyer from making an offer as they may not match how they vision their future home.

So Which Option is the Best?

The answer is it depends on you and your target market. If you don’t want to spend time or money buying new furniture and fixtures, you may opt to sell your home bare or unfurnished. On the other hand, if you want to go all-in and prefer to sell your home at a higher price, you can go for semi-furnished and furnished. Your earning expectations and the amount of time you need to sell your home are also significant, whether you’re in a rush or you can still wait.

Of course, to help you plan your home selling strategies, you must identify your target market and research their preferences when looking for a new home. It’s what matters most.

Final Thoughts

Selling a house is a task not fit for the unprepared. You need to process tons of documents as well as ensure that the property looks its best to attract buyers, whether you sell it bare, unfurnished, semi-furnished, or fully furnished. The good thing is, at Shorefront Investments, we buy properties as they are, even without repairs. We don’t take commissions, and we process the paperwork on your behalf, so you can focus on doing what you love most, whether it’s career-related or as simple as spending time with loved ones. If you need to sell your home fast, we close deals within one to two weeks and provide cash offers often within 24 hours.  Fill out a form to learn more about how we can buy and take care of your home.