Not silly at all. The furnishings in the apartment are there when the active sim visits another apartment. If the apartments are not furnished when the lot is changed to apartment, visitors will find an empty apartment when visiting nonplayable neighbors. Also, many people like to use a cheat to rent furnished apartments.

No tombstones, like the roads, go without saying. A "no tombstones" rule is subsumed under the "no occupied lots" rule, as a lot with a tombstone on it is occupied as far as the code is concerned.

I started using that cheat - anyway I'd rather furnish them myself than have what someone else chooses. Even more so with the EAxis apartments as they are so stupid - for some reason no matter how expensive the house/apartment EAxis likes to make sure they have at least SOME ghetto/poor redneck furniture/plumbing/electronics/etc.

Decorating is a huge part of playing the game. I personally like both empty and furnished lots, b/c I can then decorate the empty one and see how my tastes compare to the original lots. It's actually more fun than it sounds... I need to get a life... :D