Renting

Hmmm, I resent the idea that people who rent are less respectful of property because its not theirs. For myself its the opposite, if something wasnt spot on in the rental I would worry but when it was our own home I wasnt so worried. I have redecorated and improved rental homes (with landlords consent) and left them in the same or better condition than I went in. Sure it doesnt apply to everyone but in general if you have a nice 3 bedroomed home with garage and parking you arent that likely to get people in it who will trash it especially if you present it well in the first place.

I have always rented unfurnished in the past and even though I own no furniture etc now I would rather sit on the floor until I bought my own than use furnished as with children you never know what they might do to furniture...drinks, food, sick...Id really not like the responsibility of looking after furniture that could be damaged in any way. At least if its my own furniture its only me thats bothered!

Id be put off by an owner storing possessions in the house too, even if in the attic. I get contents insurance for properties I rent and I dont know how having owners possessions stored would affect this insurance and I would be unhappy about being responsible for its safety.

We've always lived in an "unfurnished" house, but the houses have always have kitchen appliances, built in wardrobes and curtains or blinds. I wouldn't want the responsibilty of looking after someone's furniture either, all our stuff at the minute is our own. The landylady offered some furniture, I think a sofa, bed and kitchen table and chairs if we wanted them, which many landlords seem to do round here.

We've usually repainted some walls, changed the curtains and even replaced flooring (with permission), so a neutral colour scheme has never bothered us. Some colour is nice, but please don't put in horribly patterned wallpaper Don't put in anything too expensive as you may have to replace it when the tenants leave and you can't always take it out of their deposit. Our previous landlord stored stuff in our garage, which did bother us because we couldn't use it. I probably wouldn't mind suff being stored in the loft but I wouldn't want the responsibilty of it if something got lost or stolen, and you don't know whether tenant might go through it or not!

Thanks for all the feedback.

I think whether we sell or rent, I'd probably do as much to prepare the house, it's in good nick, but I do that when we take down art and move sofas I'll probably be horrified!

We still have our old sofas and sitting room furniture in the garage, and a spare bed, and a few bits of bedroom storage, left over from pre-children days) in the loft, so we would probably be able to offer to provide the basic furniture. I wouldn't do all the plates and glasses etc. Far too much of a risk!