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FURNITURE
PLUS.
HERE TO
HELP YOU BECAUSE WE CARE.
THINGS
YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING FURNITURE IN SPAIN
Rentals Bedrooms Sofas Linen White Goods Garden
General Tips
With the credit crunch
and Euro exchange rate today you cannot afford to miss these tips on
buying furniture in Spain to help you avoid regrets or mistakes that
can be made and cost you money.
When buying your property
you need to get the measurements of the rooms, developers are making
properties smaller than they did a few years ago. Plans will often
show the room area in square meters but not the dimensions necessary
for fitting in furniture. When looking at properties and show houses,
take a tape measure and note book and record measurements to check
actual sizes. Measure at floor level between the skirting tiles. In a
duplex do not assume an upstairs room is the same as that downstairs,
even if it is directly above and looks identical.
In furniture you want it
to be sturdy and solid if you are renting out or having a lot of
children visiting etc. Look at table, chair and bed legs, will they
withstand people on holiday in a different mind set to that of home
life. Remember people renting rarely look after things or treat them
as owners would. You want furniture that you can make good the
following summer season with little maintenance. Glass and shiny
surfaces show the dust and scratch marks are not easy to repair.
Once you have decided on a
range of furniture you want to buy and think you may like to add to
it in the future with a lamp table or maybe an extra chest of
drawers, can the company supply extra items to the range. Many
companies are unable to do this, they only sell set items to certain
ranges for packages.
When choosing the
furniture company you are going to use check that they help with all
the above. Other things you need to ask, does the overall price
include delivery, assembly of furniture, fixing your curtain poles
and mirrors to the walls plus taking all their rubbish away. Is the
price of your furniture stated in Euros or in Pound Stirling, this
can make a big difference to your pocket. Does it also include I.V.A
(VAT) and any credit card charges which can all be added on after you
agreed a final amount?
Another good point, once
you have decided where and when to buy your furniture and leave your
50% deposit with them, do they store your furniture free of charge?
Do they order your package in ready for you straight away? For
example, you think you need your furniture in 6 months time on your
property completion. Suddenly you complete in four months time, can
they deliver your furniture within a week. If your property takes a
year to complete instead of 6 months what is their policy for this.
Do not be frightened to
ask questions and if you don’t like the answers or don’t feel
comfortable with the company, move on to another one.
At Furniture Plus we give
our customers a good professional service, value for money and will
help in any way we can. We don’t just sell furniture packages; we
are a one stop shop and sell one item or more. Lots of our customers
come from recommendations and our customers return again and again.
We often have our old customers coming to see us just for a visit and
a chat over a cup of coffee to get an update or asking for advice on
where to go for this that and the other.
We include in our prices
free delivery to surrounding areas, I.V.A., no extra charges for
using a credit card, full assembly of furniture and fixing of curtain
poles and mirrors. If you have our linen pack we make the beds for
you, with our household pack we wash everything and put away in the
cupboards, and if you have our kitchen appliances they are plumbed in
ready for use (subject to appropriate connections being available).
Patio furniture is left ready for your use so all in all you have
nothing to do but open the wine, relax and start enjoying your new
home in the sun.
Think About Rentals <Back to Top>
Many people say I am
only renting out my property, what’s the cheapest we can buy. You
need to remember if you are renting you need to buy for your property
at a reasonable standard, its going to make you money so see your
property as a business project. Think what you would want for your
money if renting yourself and put in place these standards for your
client’s holiday. This view point will make you more money in the
long run. To achieve this you really don’t need to spend a fortune,
but you will get the recommendations.
If you want a sofa bed to
make more on your rentals I suggest you think hard on this as it is
extra wear and tear on your property and furniture and you could land
up with six people and only get rent for 4 people, not everybody is
honest. If you have a sofa bed for family staying with you there is
no need to let the rentals know you have one.
Bedrooms <Back to Top>
When we first opened our
business 4 years ago we could put into a double room a double or even
king size bed, 2 bedsides, a chest of drawers and often a dressing
table with stool. Now we are lucky to fit in a normal sized double
bed and 2 bedsides leaving you just enough room to walk around the
bed and get to the wardrobe.
The twin bedded rooms are
a bigger problem. A lot of the show houses are displaying 2 single
beds with a bedside. Look at the beds, what size are they? Are they
the normal 3ft (90 x 190 cm) beds or are they Spanish size somier and
mattress with headboards (80 x 180cms). This is important; you
need to measure from the headboard wall to the door frame for the
length of bed you can fit in. You need to know the correct length for
ordering your beds or you will not be able to open and close the
bedroom door. It could mean you can’t get to the wardrobe doors or
even fit in a bedside cabinet.
When buying your beds it
is best to buy bedsteads and not divans, unless you are going to live
in Spain.
This is because there is
not enough room to move beds to clean under them properly and, even
if there is room your cleaners will generally not move beds. Cleaners
are happy to sweep and mop under beds which is important with the
dust here and various insects. You also need the space to put
suitcases. In the hot weather air circulation under the beds helps
cool you and keep the mattresses aired and fresher.
When buying your
mattresses do buy comfortable ones and not cheap ones which go lumpy
etc. It’s part of everyone’s holiday to have good nights sleep
and not wake up with a bad back. If you are renting out your property
no one will recommend you if your beds are uncomfortable and they
will not return either. It’s a loss of revenue when there are so
many other places to rent.
Many people want a sofa
bed for extra family to share a holiday with them, so check if you
have a sofa bed is there enough room to open it for use? You will
have to move the coffee table, maybe chairs or the other sofa, where
do you put them plus the extra clothes and cases etc?
Sofas <Back to Top>
Check when ordering your sofas that the covers come off for washing and do they have guarantees? When choosing your material for your sofas think twice about very light colours as people use more suntan lotions and creams here than they ever would in England, also getting hot and sweaty,all adding to marks on your sofas. Lots of people ask for leather sofas, before ordering these think about this, you stick to them inthe summer and they are cold in the winter as there is not normally the heating we have in the U.K. Most people land up buying throws to cover up the leather for these reasons. If you do order one stay away from light colours because of marks, you will be forever cleaning it.
Linen & Soft Furnishings <Back to Top>
Your linen package. It needs to have mattress protectors and don’t forget one for your sofa bed. It’s hot at night and people perspire more and with different people using the beds it is more hygienic for all concerned. Check with the company you are buying from if they have plastic in them or just cotton. If they have plastic don’t buy them, people just take them off the beds as they are too hot to sleep on.
Another good point, buy
English pillows, the Spanish pillows are hard and often bolsters.
If you are ordering
curtain poles and curtains measure the width of the windows
and length to the floor. Beware of any roller blind top box, pole
mountings will have to be above or to the side of these. This is
easier to sort out before rather than on delivery day for all
concerned. We will alter curtains to fit your window length, not many
other companies do this. Some companies just leave them crunched up
on the floor or tie them in a knot which is no good when you come to
pull them.
White Goods <Back to Top>
White goods package,
which usually includes a fridge/freezer, washing machine, dishwasher
and microwave, you need to know that these will be delivered when
required and they are plumbed in for you.
If you buy a household/
kitchen pack ask about the goods included. Are their frying pans
non-stick, are utensils plastic or steel and so on. If visiting their
showroom look at the goods offered in the package and that they are
of a good quality for the price. Do they unpack the goods and wash
everything and put it into your cupboards ready for use.
Garden <Back to Top>
Deciding on your garden
furniture try and not think plastic table and chairs, because the
sun does degrade them and you often land up buying again the
following year. Sometimes some one can be sitting in a chair when it
breaks and they take more cleaning. We encourage Aluminium coated
garden furniture as it does last longer. The chairs stack just like
the plastic too. If you buy a parasol base get a really heavy one, at
least 30 kilos and usually made of stone. As for the parasol itself
don’t buy wood, the supports break when blown over. Never put your
parasol in your table holder, one strong gust of wind and you have
everything crashing to the floor and what a waste of good wine. Yes
we do have a lot of unexpected gusts of wind and another tip, if you
are going out or going indoors and not using it, put the parasol
down.
Why have I spent time
writing these tips? The answer is simple, I have had so many people
in my shop disappointed with their packages, let down on deliveries,
not had a good service, received poor quality goods for their money
or just been sold to with no advice given because the company didn’t
listen to the customer’s requirements.
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