Cheapest option: rent furnished or rent unfurnished and furnish ourselves?

[neddrick98]

So i'm moving to NZ at the end of November this year, with my boyfriend.
We both currently live with our respective parents in different countries, and will be on low-income wages in NZ (most likely).
We don't know where we will be living in NZ, as this will depend on where we find work.

So, my question is:

Is it cheaper for us to rent a house/flat that's already furnished
or
cheaper to rent UNfurnished and then furnish ourselves?

We have visas for one year, so if we decide not to stay in NZ for longer than one year, would it still be more convenient to rent un-furnished ??

Am I making any sense at all?!

Basically, I don't want to rent with no furniture if that means we'll spend more in the long run, but I also DO want to because then that's our stuff and we can move onto the next place (provided it's in NZ) with it.

Thanks!

[Karen Phillips]

Hi. The majority of rentals are unfurnished in NZ, so you may not have a choice. You can pick up second-hand furniture on www.traeme.co.nz and in most locations.

[nani]

Furnished places are usually a lot more expensive than unfurnished as there isn't a lot to choose from. We found great stuff on trademe for very good prices, if you take your time and have easy transport (trailer/ute). If you decide to leave after a year you would probably be able to sell the furniture again on trademe.
It might help to look around trademe and see for what price the style of things you like are going for, and while you are doing that check out the real estate section to see the price difference between furnished and unfurnished and what is available. Most apartment come with whiteware so that will help.

[JandM]

Yes, TradeMe and op shops (charity shops), as well as local small ads, are a good source of cheap necessaries.

[neddrick98]

Sounds like we're going for unfurnished then, since furnished seems not to be too common over there! We're not fussed about fancy items or anything, just the basics, so hopefully it will still work out cheaper even for just the year, as long we use TradeMe and charity shops/garage sales etc.

Thanks guys!!!

[72andsunny]

Most apartment come with whiteware so that will help.

Being an American, I'm not quite sure what constitutes as whiteware. But: I would expect to find an oven and stove in any place you rent. I would not expect to find a refrigerator in an unfurnished place. A dishwasher could go either way (though apparently if it breaks, the landlord is not obligated to repair it unless it is specifically mentioned in your rental agreement). A washing machine would be a nice surprise, and a dryer would be a shocking discovery (though somewhat of a white elephant unless your utilities are included in the rent).

These are just my rental experiences; I suppose there might be pockets of the country where nobody owns a refrigerator, so landlords feel compelled to provide them.

[Otaku]

We went for a "semi-furnished" apartment, with Fridge,Dishwasher,Oven,Washing machine and Dryer included to ge. But this is not so common. So you can go for an unfurnished one, rent whatever you need before you buy. You can search for furniture rentals and inquire. We were charged approx. $1500 for furniture and kitchen utensils for 2 months.

[sbranca]

(If anyone is still looking at this thread...)

I was surprised at how much new furniture costs in NZ. (Why I was surprised? I don't know.) Your decision depends on what else you want to move. I took everything and my container cost US$10,000. But that included paintings, linen, tools, Christmas decorations, kitchenware, and much more. If you can do the three-suitcases thing, you're probably better off getting used furniture in NZ.

Whiteware used to be appliance industry lingo for things like refrigerators, washers, dryers, etc. because they were ... white. It's drifted into common parlance since, but more in NZ that in the US.

[neddrick98]

I think a semi-furnished would be the ideal situation, but as people have rightly said, furnished is harder to come by. We really just want the whiteware, a bed frame and a sofa, as I don't like the idea of having a clogged up house anyway!

In terms of what we're shipping across: nothing.

I still live with my parents, so at the moment am living out of my box room at home, and he's currently working abroad but won't be going home between now and NZ, so is living with far far less than I am. He'll take one suitcase - pretty much just clothes - and i'm going to take two (one clothes and one full of homely and useful things). Shipping my single bed and tiny wardrobe would probably cost more than the items cost, and be pointless!!!