Here’s Why Black Professionals Are Choosing to Rent Furniture Instead of Buy
Setting up a first household is expensive. Whether a person buys or rents, the expense is far higher than just the monthly mortgage or rent payment. For example, for a first household, most people will have to buy several pieces of basic furniture — and that can get expensive quickly.
Imagine having to buy a bed, mattress, couch, table and chairs, and other basic furniture all at once. The amount will easily shoot up into the thousands!
What if young people didn’t have to buy all that furniture right when they are starting out? What if they could rent it instead? Let’s check out some of the top reasons why young professionals are choosing to rent their furniture instead of buying it.
1. They Move More Often
Imagine dropping several thousand dollars on a few pieces of nice furniture. After a few months or a year of living in the home, it’s time to move to the next one. Time for the expense and inconvenience of packing it all up and hauling it to a new place.
Upon arrival, it is discovered that the new apartment is smaller or the rooms are shaped differently and that nice furniture doesn’t work as well. People end up having to sell it, which can be a major inconvenience, or throw it out.
This turns into a major problem for Millenials. They tend to be on the move more often than other generations. In this survey, Millennials were found to move on average about once every two years. Compare that to Gen Xers moving roughly once every four years and Baby Boomers enjoying a home for six years on average before moving.
A new job is a major reason why Millenials pack up and move so often. In fact, 81% of movers cited a new job as their reason for moving. As young professionals blossom in their careers, they tend to move from one company or position to another and they like to live close.
Hauling all their furniture to a new city or even just across town can get to be quite a hassle. Renting furniture instead for the time they will be in the house tends to make more sense
2. They Like to Enjoy Nice Furniture
One way of dealing with this problem is to simply not buy expensive furniture. People can scour the internet for Craigslist deals or even buy random furniture from the thrift store.
This is a cheap way to furnish an apartment and if they decide that they don’t need a particular piece after moving to a new apartment, they can just sell or trash the piece will little worry because they didn’t spend a lot on it in the first place.
However, this method only works for people who don’t mind having a bunch of mismatched and semi-ugly furniture.
For many young professionals, this is unacceptable. They like nice things and want their homes to look elegant. An excellent way to side-step the expense of purchasing it upfront is to rent the furniture instead.
3. They Like to Change It Up
Additionally, some people like to change up the look of their homes — even if they don’t move. Buying furniture means they are stuck with the same pieces or will have to try to sell them, which isn’t always easy.
Renting their furniture means they can change their decor anytime they want. All it takes is a call to the rental company and picking out the new pieces.
4. They Want to Be More Eco-Friendly
To avoid hauling a lot of heavy furniture from one apartment to another or give themselves the freedom to change up their look, some people will purchase inexpensive “throw-away” furniture. It isn’t high-quality and it isn’t designed to last for years, but it gets the job done in the meantime.
This can be cost-effective, but it’s horrible for the environment. All that inexpensive furniture eventually ends up in the landfills, contributing to our massive garbage problem.
By renting high-quality pieces, renters are reusing already-loved pieces or someone will reuse them afterward or both. Regardless, this high-quality furniture will last for years rather than months and offer plenty of use for the effort that went into making them.
How Does Furniture Rental Work?
Furniture rental is a pretty simple concept. Fernish and Feather, two new startups, are redefining how to offer furniture rental. Working off a subscription-based model, they present the idea of having gorgeous, high-quality furnishings in your home for a fraction of the price it would cost to purchase all the items outright.
Even better, when a customer reaches the end of their contract, they are given the option to renew or buy the piece. Their monthly rental payments to date count toward the price of the piece, meaning they only have to pay the difference and they will own the piece.
If the customer only needs the furniture for a few months, rental is a convenient way to get needed furniture and then return it.
Ready to Rent Your Furniture?
Are you intrigued by this concept? If you are a young professional (or even if you’re not), some of these reasons for renting furniture may appeal to you.
Who wouldn’t want to have a lovely home and not worry about large upfront costs?
Plus, if you end up liking the piece you can just pay the difference between how much you’ve already paid and the price of the piece. It’s like buying furniture on a payment plan, but you can return it easier and choose a different piece if you decide you don’t like it!
