Better to Rent Furnished or Unfurnished Condo in Philippines?

Hey gang!
Just curious, I have been struggling to find furnished condos that have furniture that is actually comfortable in terms of size etc.  Many of the sofa's here are quasi-sofas, and may look good, but actually fail field tests wherein my back gets sore etc because the sofa swallows my entire body with no back support etc.  Fridges are often very tiny with minimal storage.  That said, I'm not sure if I should just rent an empty unit and furnish it myself with furnishings more typically found in western countries concerning their size and comfort, or if I should just bite the bullet so to speak and accept that I'll never be truly comfortable with the furniture in my rented condo if I rent a condo that is already furnished LOL
So, is it a good idea to just rent an unfurnished condo and then furnish it myself with modestly priced yet comfortable furnishings?  I do plan to stay in my next rental for at least 6 months to one year depending on several factors too long to list here. 
What do most expats do?
Thank you and stay safe :-)

Well horses for courses as they say mate. 6 to 12 months rent? What will you do with the furniture/goods you purchase once you leave? Moving/selling/storing. A thin line that needs to be evaluated with regards to your future plans. Temp res or perm?

We lived for 6/7 weeks in a B/B in Malate with a cr*p bed and a tiny refrigerator as well as insignificant basic furnishings and survived. Then rented condo for 12 months came with beds. Bonus was the master bed was fine. A sh*tty lounge suite and a tiny fridge, a 32 inch tv in the master bedroom but nothing in the living area, no tv, no stereo etc etc. basic plus. We rented for 12 months a 3 bed 3 bath condo, 3rd bed and bath was the maids quarters and became the storage area for all/most of the furnishings. Purchased new front load washing machine and dryer (not supplied) a 15/6 cubic foot refrigerator (6 cubic foot supplied) a new leather lounge suite, (existing cr*p) Decent sound system, 55 inch tv etc etc. loaned to the outlaws (in reality it's their property now) who have complained 5 or 6 years on that the tv died and can we pay for the repairs,,,,,, go figure. We went back to Oz for 5/6 years so all that we purchased was gone and then some. The only thing that was resurrected was the tumble dryer that the family didn't want because they couldn't afford to run it,,,, 8 or 9 years on it sits in our laundry and gets used from time to time, the washing machine died 2 years ago and you guessed it, wanted us to pay to fix it. Truck off rings a bell. PHP 250/300K later with what they scored and still looking for payouts, nope.

Only my suggestions but be very careful of your spending and commitments here both short and long term depending on commitments.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl wrote:

Well horses for courses as they say mate. 6 to 12 months rent? What will you do with the furniture/goods you purchase once you leave? Moving/selling/storing. A thin line that needs to be evaluated with regards to your future plans. Temp res or perm?

We lived for 6/7 weeks in a B/B in Malate with a cr*p bed and a tiny refrigerator as well as insignificant basic furnishings and survived. Then rented condo for 12 months came with beds. Bonus was the master bed was fine. A sh*tty lounge suite and a tiny fridge, a 32 inch tv in the master bedroom but nothing in the living area, no tv, no stereo etc etc. basic plus. We rented for 12 months a 3 bed 3 bath condo, 3rd bed and bath was the maids quarters and became the storage area for all/most of the furnishings. Purchased new front load washing machine and dryer (not supplied) a 15/6 cubic foot refrigerator (6 cubic foot supplied) a new leather lounge suite, (existing cr*p) Decent sound system, 55 inch tv etc etc. loaned to the outlaws (in reality it's their property now) who have complained 5 or 6 years on that the tv died and can we pay for the repairs,,,,,, go figure. We went back to Oz for 5/6 years so all that we purchased was gone and then some. The only thing that was resurrected was the tumble dryer that the family didn't want because they couldn't afford to run it,,,, 8 or 9 years on it sits in our laundry and gets used from time to time, the washing machine died 2 years ago and you guessed it, wanted us to pay to fix it. Truck off rings a bell. PHP 250/300K later with what they scored and still looking for payouts, nope.

Only my suggestions but be very careful of your spending and commitments here both short and long term depending on commitments.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.


Thank you I understand

onefogarty wrote:

I do plan to stay in my next rental for at least 6 months to one year


Is it also six months to one year in the Philippines? Or just in you next rental?

You mentioned in your previous post that you were looking into moving to Fame condo in Mandaluyong. Units at Fame are small. Often small furnished units come with small furnishings. If you opt for an unfurnished one, determine first if the furniture you're planning to buy would fit in the unit? I've seen floor plans where bedrooms are small, such that the head, foot, and one side of the bed are flushed to the wall.

You said you liked BGC, but you're moving to Mandaluyong to save on rent. Why in Mandaluyong? Is it because it's near  your work?

I live in Quezon City. Near 3 malls and an S&R. Hospital's not far. LTO, BIR, PhilHealth, SSS offices all close by. Near a watershed. Not a flood-prone area. There are 3 condo developments here: Ayala, SMDC and DMCI. Montessori and preschools nearby. If you're interested, I can tell you more about the area. lasvegan also lives in this area.

onefogarty wrote:
bigpearl wrote:

Only my suggestions but be very careful of your spending and commitments here both short and long term depending on commitments.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.


Thank you I understand


Ditto

Short term rent furnished. Long term furnish yourself but plan on donating furniture to relatives when you move.

FortuneFavorsTheBold wrote:

Short term rent furnished. Long term furnish yourself but plan on donating furniture to relatives when you move.


I was thinking the same exact thing;)

That's what happens. Look up the word "borrow" in Tagalog. Hahaha

FortuneFavorsTheBold wrote:

That's what happens. Look up the word "borrow" in Tagalog. Hahaha


Yes it?s a poor population so that can be assumed

Yes that's one way of putting it

Lotus Eater wrote:

Yes that's one way of putting it


Yup