What exactly does furnished mean.........

I am looking on www.propertyfinder.com for a furnished house or flat at least two bedrooms.  It must be furnished but what exactly does this mean in UK terms?

Does most furnished places just offer the essentials like sofa, bed, kitchen appliances, or do furnished places also come with dishes and cookware and televisions?  Just trying to get an idea of what I will need to prepare for once we make the move so I can start planning a budget as well for things that we will have to get once we make the move and what I will need to pack up and ship over.

I know that I will be shipping all of my bedding over, just can't leave that behind bc I love my comforters (Tommy).  Any information would be appreciated.

When I first moved here we rented a furnished house. We had furniture to fill each room, appliances, dishes and curtains. No sheets or towels.

thanks Pebbles,

 I kinda figured on the bedding and towels but just wasn't sure about everything else.  Because some say partly furnished or just furnished or some say furnished or unfurnished.  Just needed some clarification.  I have contacted a couple of estate agents but none have responded to my request.

There wont be a television in a furnished flat.
You buy that yourself, and pay the licence.

This might help:

http://www.privaterentedproject.co.uk/home/index.php?area=landlords&sub=general_practice_guidelines&link_name=Getting%20the%20property%20ready

The thing to remember is not to sign any inventory unless you are clear that the items are actually present and in the condition it says they are.  I always take a detailed inventory of my own, print it out, get it witnessed and hold that as well as their version.

It's a good idea, because a year or so down the road they can't turn round and charge you for damage/wear that was already there.  A lot of landlords do this.  The law allows for "reasonable wear and tear" regarding normal day to day living.

I have never had a problem myself, but it's worth crossing all the t's and dotting your i's just in case, it's in your own interests to do so.

thats is really a great idea, I don't think that I would have thought about that.  Thanks! 

Well since furnished does not mean a TV, are they really expensive in the UK?  and what about cable or satellite?  Is it pretty reasobablly priced? I already knew that to own a tv you had to pay a tv tax.

Thanks for all the advice and help!  Is there anything else I should be thinking about prior to moving regarding housing ect.

You're welcome!

Can't think of anything right now, except if you want to make any changes to the property (even banging nails in for pictures etc) get it in writing. Same with cable TV if there isn't already cable supplied, it involves small holes drilled through the wall, get the permission in writing first, this can drastically affect your chances of getting your whole deposit back.

No, T.V's are not so expensive anymore, probably still more than you would expect to pay in the USA, but they've come down a lot here now. Here's a list of the most competitively priced retailers for you;

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Home.htm
http://www.tesco.com/
http://www.currys.co.uk/
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/ecometHome.html

The cable/satellite market is incredibly competitive now and a lot of people get integrated services like their phone, cable package & internet together.

For example, mine is a basic family package with NTL (Cable), with Broadband and the phone with a deal on calls to USA and free Voicemail, that costs me approx £50 per month, which is quite expensive I grant you, but that does include all the USA calls too and is an average, sometimes it's a bit less.  Here they are doing a deal which they do a lot: I ended up with 6 mths half price broadband.

http://www.ntl.home-offers.co.uk/?src=gg-xntlcable- somewhere on the website is a builder tool, where you choose your options step-by-step and it gives you the costs depending on your choices.
http://www.sky.com/ordersky/home - the other popular company

Then there are other options like: http://www.freeview.co.uk/

I already knew that to own a tv you had to pay a tv tax.

It's not a tax, it's a licence fee. 

If you rent a furnished place, remember that all soft furnishings (sofa, chairs, matresses) MUST have fire certificate tags on them.  And however many bedrooms a place is advertised as, it must have a bed in that many rooms; i.e. - 3 bedroom house must have 3 beds in 3 separate rooms.

Well since furnished does not mean a TV, are they really expensive in the UK?

This reminds me of a quick story from last year when my friend, Phil, came to visit me in England.  He had a work-mate who just happened to be in London at the same time.  We met and all of us ended up in Harrod's.

We went to the Sound and Vision floor and were looking at the swish, new widescreen teles.  He said that they were priced really well, probably better than what you'd find in the States.  And this was in Harrod's!!

Matt

Well since furnished does not mean a TV, are they really expensive in the UK?  and what about cable or satellite?  Is it pretty reasobablly priced? I already knew that to own a tv you had to pay a tv tax.

You might want to ask about this -- the first flat DH and I were in included a tv (and quite a big one at that!).  We were responsible for the tv license, of course.

NewDawn, that looks like a good deal. How much do you pay for calls to the US?  And how fast is your internet? Thanks

NewDawn, that looks like a good deal. How much do you pay for calls to the US?  And how fast is your internet? Thanks

1 Mb (free) upgrade at 17.99 per mth, Only ever had one outtage and no other problems, also couldn't see any need to have faster for me.Here is the site and there is a comparison tool on the right hand menu.  I just get the cheapest telephone package and pay an international rate fee of something like £2 per mth and our phone calls are never more than £10 per mth (and this is with long calls at weekends to the relatives and the odd call in the week).

At the moment they are offering that speed at £9.99 per mth for 12 mths!
http://www.home.ntl.com/icat/broadband

OUr furnished place:
A bed
a desk
a TV and TV stand
a book shelf
a coffee table
another side table
built in wardrobes
2 love seats

no where near enough for us so we bought a bunch of extras and had dave's stuff from his old flat.

My place is semi-furnished which meant:

several old (slightly icky) sofas & chairs
a small round table with 4 chairs
3 beds - nothing more than the mattresses
And that's it.  We have bought a LOT of furnishings for the house. (Love IKEA and Argos!)