Should I rent out my Apartment in Berlin furnished?
Von Christine Kandler
Should I rent out my apartment in Berlin furnished?
Just recently a customer registered a furnished apartment with us and sent us photos for a first assessment. The apartment looked fantastic: high-quality furniture, tasteful, modern, cosy. It appeared that everything had been done right.
A second glance revealed a problem. We checked the exact details of the apartment: location, size, number of rooms and the desired rent. Immediately it became clear that this flat actually had nearly no chance of being rented.
More and more landlords would like to rent out their flat furnished for a limited period of time. The advantages are obvious. However, not every apartment is suitable for temporary letting. And not every rental price that the landlord desires can be achieved.
Should I rent out my apartment in Berlin furnished?
Yes - if the location is right - or if the apartment is cheap
It doesn't matter how good the connection is with public transport. The vast majority of temporary tenants are looking for an apartment in the city centre within the S-Bahn ring. Unfortunately Berlin is not London. Even apartments in good and sought-after residential areas outside the city centre are not necessarily the first choice for tenants when it comes to temporary letting. Of course, there are tenants who are specifically looking for a furnished apartment in these districts. And naturally there are those who already live there, and have to rent a furnished apartment temporarily due to renovation measures, water damage, etc. But the number of people interested in renting such flats is low. Tenants who work outside of Berlin also prefer a furnished apartment in the city centre. They usually pay attention to good connections to their workplace when choosing an apartment.
Rents for apartments that are not very centrally located must be lower than those in the city centre. For many tenants, the rent is the decisive criterion when choosing an apartment, and some even accept slightly longer journeys if they can save money.
Should I rent out my apartment in Berlin furnished?
Yes, if there is a target group for the apartment
Landlords often have a false idea of the target group for whom their apartment could be interesting. The cliché of the desired tenant is the CEO, a single, middle-aged, weekend commuter - who never cooks or does the laundry - and lives in a 140 m² apartment for 3500 Euros. This type of tenant exists, but they are not the rule. Furnished renting is beloved by business people: central, good connections to the office, high-quality furnishings. The size of the apartment is often not so important, or in most cases 40 -60 m² are sufficient for a single person, sometimes it should be larger. The probability that a single person - or even a couple - rents an apartment larger than 100 m² is relatively low. And if it does, then this might happen once. Larger apartments must always have several bedrooms, otherwise there is no value for the tenants. Tenants who work outside the apartment all day do not need much space. On the contrary, because large apartments also need to be continuously maintained and cleaned.
Should I rent out my apartment in Berlin furnished?
Yes, if I know the rent I want to get
Some landlords ask, sometimes before they have furnished the apartment, what rent they can achieve with an apartment. And often they believe those who name the highest price. With every case, it is difficult to name a price if the apartment is not yet fully furnished and decorated.
The rental price depends on many factors - e.g. whether it is to be rented to only one or two people, whether baby or child is accepted, whether a dog is allowed under certain circumstances, how long the minimum rental period is, etc.
Tenants are demanding and, of course, compare apartment offers.
The question with time rental should actually be: for what rent can it be guaranteed that the apartment is almost always rented to good tenants. In contrast to the permanent lease, the apartment does not have to be rented out only once. And even if the apartment can be let once at a high price, this does not mean that follow-up tenants will always be found at the same price. Vacancy is expensive, and the flat should stay rented out.
Should I rent out my apartment in Berlin furnished?
Yes, if I really want to rent to the target group looking for temporary apartments
Which group of people is renting for a limited time? There are of course diplomats, professors, or actors who are shooting a film in Berlin and rent a temporary apartment.
Diplomats want to rent for several years, professors tend to rent for shorter periods, and actors for even shorter periods.
The vast majority of tenants who rent furnished temporary accommodation are people, mainly from the IT sector, who move to Berlin from abroad to work in start-ups. These tenants earn above average, they have no chance of renting an unfurnished apartment from abroad, they do not yet have a Schufa (German credit score) and everything you need to get a permanent lease in Germany. Often they also don't know whether it is even worthwhile to rent permanently in case they go to another city. These people rent either alone or with a partner. Or sometimes with a partner and a small child.
Temporary tenants tend to be young, i.e. not yet so professionally established, so that they are still moving or being relocated. As a rule, temporary tenants are between 25 and 40 years old. Rarely older.
In the past, when temporary housing agencies were allowed to rent to anyone, this was different. Now, for tenants, the reason must be to move for professional reasons.
If a landlord of, for example, a 1 or 2 room apartment, not in the absolute luxury segment and in any case not to younger tenants.
There is a great demand for the following apartments:
- 1-room apartments between 800 - 1300 Euro. For the apartments between 1200 and 1300 Euro the equipment must be of high quality and the location must be very good
- 2-room apartments up to 1500 Euro in good locations (often 1500 Euro is a limit for many tenants)
- 2-room apartments for max. 1300 Euro, also outside the S-Bahn ring, with max. 30 min travel time to City East or West
- 2-3 room apartments up to approx. 1700 € (3-room apartment) for families with a child, usually a first floor flat or lift is required, max. 30 min to the city
- Luxury 2-room apartments in a new building with balcony, lift etc., up to approx. 1700 € +/- for 1-2 persons
- Family apartments with 2+ bedrooms
back to category: | The Temporary Rental Blog | Landlords | Temporary letting - the basics
