The furniture buying process can often feel like a lifetime of searching for the right furnishings, shelling out cash, and waiting for a delivery that seems like it’ll never get here. After waiting for the delivery date to arrive, customers often have to wait at home during a 2-4 hour window for the delivery crew to drop the furniture off.
Furniture shoppers have had enough! Renting furniture can help make your furniture search much quicker and can offer some great perks you won’t find when purchasing your furniture. Rental furniture isn’t for everyone, though, as buying furniture the traditional way can be the right choice for some shoppers.
Every day when we work with Furniture Options customers to provide them the right furniture for their needs, often the first question asked is, “Why should I rent my furniture instead of buying it?” and we always answer the same way. There are a number of reasons why furniture rental could be right for you, but there are also reasons why it could be the wrong choice!
Over our 35 year history of helping customers with their furniture rental needs, we’ve noticed a pattern in customers who’ve had an excellent experience when renting from us.
Here are the 9 types of people who are good fits for rental furniture.
- Military Personnel
- People in Transition
- Disaster Relief
- College Students
- Interns
- Traveling Groups
- Corporate Housing Companies
- Apartment Communities
- Home Stagers
1. Military Personnel
One thing you learn after you or a loved one completes basic training is you could be stationed anywhere in the world. When your military family member receives their Permanent Change of Service, their orders can last months or years. Odds are your family will be transferred to another location at least once in a military career.
When that time comes, it can be a real pain to search for furniture to fill your home and an even greater pain finding someone to buy your furniture when it’s time to move. Applying for relocation services through your base can be a time consuming process, too, making military family relocation one of the most difficult aspects of receiving new orders.
Military.com has put together 8 checklists diagramming everything service members and their families should do to prepare for their move, starting a whopping 3 months (Yikes!) prior to their moving date.
While it can’t shorten all of the procedures, furniture rental can save you time when working with your relocation office and planning your move. For more information on planning your move, check out this PCS Checklist.
Renting furniture is an excellent option for military personnel and their families, as the military discounts offered by many rental providers make it cheaper and easier than purchasing your furnishings.
When taking advantage of the military’s Personally Procured Move option, furniture rentals can help you save or even make money during your move. By not paying for all of the fees associated with moving your home furnishings, you’re able to pocket all that money to use how you see fit.
If your PCS orders are set to last for more than a year, purchasing your furniture could end up being a better option for your family. Monthly fees can add up over a long period of time, so take the time to do some math to figure out whether furniture rental is the right choice for your military family relocation needs.
2. People in Transition
Whether you’re moving cities, building a new home, or needing to stay close to a place or person, sometimes you need temporary furniture for temporary times in your life. Rental furniture makes your life transition easier by saving you time, money, and effort.
Some life changing events that past customers have used our rental furnishings for include:
- Relocation
- Extended Travel
- Assisted Living Care
- Recently Separated or Divorced
- Building a New Home
There are some cases where furniture rental is not the right option for a person in transition. If a traveler plans on staying long-term in a new location, for example, purchasing your home furnishings could be a better option. Another scenario could be someone who can’t afford to rent furnishings at a monthly rate. Furniture shoppers in that case should look for great deals on used furnishings at a local thrift store or used furniture store.
If your transition leads you to need furnishings for a shorter period of time, furniture rental companies will provide all the furnishings for your temporary home. Whether you’re looking to furnish an entire house or just need a few pieces for your transition, furniture renters offer a variety of products and packages to fit most renters’ needs.
3. Disaster Relief
If you are displaced by natural disasters, finding temporary accommodations, working with your insurance, waiting for news about your neighborhood or family members, and a million other things are on your mind. You shouldn’t add finding furniture for your temporary home too the list.
Furniture rental companies help relieve some of the stress in moving into your temporary location by providing furniture for your extended stay home while you are displaced. Some companies can even deliver your furnishings as soon as the next day after your order is placed, so you can focus on everything else and not on whether you’re going to sleep on the floor or in the bathtub.
They’ll even work with your insurance provider to ensure you have all the furnishings that fits your specific needs with as little financial impact to you as possible. Furniture rental companies will often be happy to deliver furnishings to your home once it is safe to return in the event that your furniture has been ruined by the disaster.
Sometimes people displaced from their homes will stay with a friend or family, which can be a better option for a single person or couple as you’ll save money on furnishings and your temporary accommodations.
This can be impractical, however, for those without connections in the area or for families who need more space than a friend’s home can offer. In these cases, furniture rental could be a great choice to furnish the temporary accommodations your insurance company should provide.
4. College Students
Hitting the books, hanging with friends, and having a good time should be all that’s on your mind when the school year’s in session. Once you’re out of the dorms, getting an apartment or moving in with friends is the most common choice for housing while you’re at school.
With so much going on, you don’t need to worry about buying, transporting and assembling furniture when you move into your new place. You can save money, time, and effort by renting your furniture.
Several furniture rental companies offer special deals to get students the most bang for their buck, so finding an easy and affordable furnishing option for your student housing is a lot easier than you think.
A quick Google search provides several furniture rental companies with offers specifically for students starting around $89/month and going all the way to more than $400/month from a more expensive provider. Most student furniture packages cost about $100/month. All you have to do is find the one that fits your needs the best!
Furniture rental may not fit your needs at all, though. If you’re strapped for cash, you may need to spend that money on other important things like food and books. If furniture rental is too steep a price, try second-hand stores or shopping on Facebook marketplace for cheaper alternatives.
The furniture you receive won’t be as high quality as you would receive renting your furniture or buying new, but if it’s all you can afford, having a bed is better than sleeping on a couch or the floor.
5. Interns
Interns have every reason to rent furniture rather than spend the time and money purchasing furnishings. Most summer internships last only a few months, and if you’re traveling for your internship, you probably don’t want to buy your furniture for such a short time.
When you purchase furniture for your home, you’ll have to go shopping for furniture in your new town immediately, or risk going without a bed your first night in your intern housing. Then when it’s time to leave, you must turn around and sell it to someone new or figure out how to transport it home just weeks later. That’s a lot of hassle for just a 10-week internship!
Renting furniture for the duration of your internship is cheaper, easier, and gives you more luxurious furnishings than if you were to buy your own furniture. You can often find special packages for interns from furniture rental providers, but as a student, you’ll also have access to student deals at many rental furniture companies.
Once your internship is up, you won’t have to worry about bringing your furnishings home with you or looking for a buyer online, as furniture renters will come pick up your furnishings and haul them away for you.
Some employers will even help or completely pay for your relocation and housing costs, making it that much more affordable to get great furniture for your home-away-from-home.
Rental furniture may not be the right choice for some interns. If you aren’t relocating to a new city for your internship, chances are you already have home furnishings for your home and don’t need to reach out to a furniture rental company.
Other times your internship could lead to a full-time position, making furniture purchases a more viable option than it would be for a regular internship. There’s no guarantee that you’ll get the position after completing the internship, so it might not be a bad idea to rent your furnishings until you know for sure.
6. Traveling Groups
When searching for housing for a group, furnished houses, apartments, and other lodgings are a must. There are several housing options for your team, from group housing to short-term lease apartments.
If you’ve already found the housing your team will use during your stay at your temporary location, you might still need furnishings to fill your accommodations.
Furniture rental companies make it easy for you to provide the homes your group needs. They are often more than welcome to work with you to provide the home furnishings you want for your team. If your group is large enough, you might even get a bulk discount from your rental furniture provider, helping to limit your costs and stay within budget.
There are other options out there for group temporary housing. Corporate housing companies provide extended stay furnished apartments to clients staying in a new location for 30+ days.
Their furnished apartments include the furnishings and lifestyle pieces to make their temporary apartments feel at home. If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution to your group travel needs, corporate housing could be a good option for you.
7. Corporate Housing Companies
Partnering with a rental furniture company is a common practice in the corporate housing industry due to how easy and profitable life is for corporate housing providers after they begin utilizing a furniture rental partner.
With reduced inventory and transportation costs, corporate housing companies can enjoy bigger margins and spend time focusing on more important things like working with clients and partnering with new properties.
Some corporate housing companies may choose to provide their own furnishings. This allows them more control over the products that go into their apartments.
While it’s always good to have a firm grasp on what furnishings your clients will use during their stay in your apartment, this comes at the risk of increased costs and can eat into margins.
8. Apartment Communities
Offering a furnished apartment option at your property is an excellent way to fill the needs of potential residents and add profits without doing any extra work.
By including a furnished apartment to your services portfolio, you can charge an additional fee for the furnishings on top of the rental fee you pay the furniture rental company, making you more money and leaving your residents happy.
By working with a furniture rental or furnished apartment company, you don’t even have to worry about keeping the furniture on-site or finding the furnishings to place in the apartment. Your life is so much easier and your clients are happier when you provide a furnished apartment option to new residents.
There are a couple reasons why a furniture rental partnership may not be right for your community.
Properties who already offer furnished apartments may find the transition to a rental furniture provider more cumbersome than they would like. Others may not feel like furnished apartments fit into their portfolio. And that’s ok!
Furniture rental providers will be happy to work with you if you feel a furnished apartment partnership is right for your community.
9. Home Stagers
Warehouse costs, maintenance costs, delivery costs, the list goes on. There are so many things you must pay for as a home staging company. Renting your furniture can make your expenses a fraction of what they were.
Renting furniture not only can reduce these three costs, which alone can amount to thousands, but can also save you money by getting you furniture when you need it at a much lower cost.
Rental furniture companies will often deliver the furniture to the staged home for you and when you’re finished, they’ll pick it back up. Plus, several furniture rental companies offer designer room packages, to ensure your clients receive a hand-picked collection to maximize the space’s effectiveness.
No more having to handle your furniture yourself, store it, and maintain its appearance. Renting your staging furniture is a great opportunity for you to save money, save time, and increase profits.
The drawbacks home stagers may come across in partnering with a rental furniture provider are often similar to those noticed by corporate housing providers. Less control over the products mean you aren’t 100% sure what exactly the furniture looks like, but you can be certain that the quality will be equal to that you find when researching which furniture rental company to partner with.
So How Can Rental Furniture Benefit You?
Furniture rental can be an excellent option for many different people like:
- Military Personnel
- People on the Move
- Disaster Victims
- College Students
- Interns
- Corporate Housing Companies
- Apartment Communities
- Home Stagers
These types of people aren’t the only ones who can benefit from working with a furniture rental company to furnish their property. You may find that furniture rental is a great choice for your needs. Be aware of the drawbacks to renting furniture, however, as furniture rental is not a perfect choice for everyone.
If you feel like a furniture rental provider could help make your furniture search easier, see what furnishings are available near you! With offices in 15 cities across the Midwest, Furniture Options offers rental furnishings and local service to customers just like these from Houston to St. Louis.
If you decide to give us a try, chances are you’ll find renting your furniture will save you a ton of time, money, and stress.
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