When looking for a new place to live, many of us turn up our noses at property that comes unfurnished. This is understandable, of course. A lot of the time, we’re concerned about how expensive it is to buy new furniture. That means getting a new sofa, a new dining table, new beds and new chairs. Even listing these things out here is probably enough to give you a headache!

There’s also the convenience to consider. When you’ve moved all your boxes from the last place to your new place, it’s nice to be able to just sit down. If there are seats at the new place already, then comfort is mere seconds away. You can take a break on the sofa with a movie! With unfurnished home, you need to haul the sofa in before you can have a comfortable seat!

But it’s not like there aren’t benefits to an unfurnished home. The rent is often much cheaper, which you’ll be thankful for once you have furnished the place. Over time, you extra rent you’re paying might not justify the price of the furniture! There is also more of a guarantee of cleanliness. With no furniture blocking the view of the floors and walls, you get a clear view of the state of the property. I don’t know if you’ve ever gotten a furnished home or an apartment then discovered later there were problems with damp in the walls. In my case, the problem as discovered a few months into my tenure, after moving one of the beds slightly. 

Another great advantage to an unfurnished property is the cutting down of damage risks. If you were to damage any of the furniture in a furnished apartment, a hefty chunk could be taken out of your deposit. In an unfurnished apartment, that risk is largely removed. You can damage your own furniture without someone charging you an arm and a leg for it! (And no, that’s not me telling you to damage your furniture just because you can. That’s just silly.)

You do, of course, have to be careful. Sometimes it’s not clear exactly what is missing from an unfurnished apartment. Make sure you inspect it properly when you’re scoping the place out. Some things could be understandable deal breakers. If the place is missing all utilities, such as the refrigerator and the oven, then you might want to look elsewhere. (This is rare, though.) There may be other missing features that you could amend yourself. There’s always the chance that a security alarm system isn’t even in place yet. Don’t be tempted to skip out on this. There are many pressing and popular reasons to install an alarm system at home. Leaving yourself unprotected isn’t recommended. 

One of the most famous benefits to an unfurnished apartment, though, is that it’s a blank slate. It’s bare, untouched by the tastes of previous tenants. Many may see that as a negative, but think about it. You can furnish a place completely to your liking. And maybe you wanted to be a true bargain hunter and skip out on some furniture. Remember your childhood fantasies of replacing all the chairs in your home with beanbags? You can now live that dream. 

See? An unfurnished property can be fun, cheap and useful. It will require some work, but you may find it well worth it in the long run.