One would think that creating a "starter house" would imply a similar "starter" level of furnishings. The goal would be to get a house on a lot for at or below 16K. After that is done, the interior furnishings can be upgraded as funds allow. I also agree that variety with regards to furnishings is nice so one does not end up using the same five or six 'best items" for every house.

What about doing both furnished and unfurnished versions? That would allow you to be creative and also make the houses easier to use with the 16K limit for those who do not give their sims additional funds to start out with.  I am not sure if one can opt to purchase a given house without furnishings if it comes with them. I recently purchased the sims 3, so I am still in the fledgling learning process.

I tried this in the empty version of Riverview last night. Had to delete a few items to reduce the price below 16,000, but otherwise the house was pretty good. One minor suggestion would be to move the house back from the street a bit so that it will fit better on some of the medium size lots. I hope you make a few more of these lower price houses.