You’ve completed the massive undertaking and purchased the overseas property you have always dreamed of - but now comes the task of furnishing it!
Unless you have had previous experience of setting up an overseas property, most of us are unlikely to have furnished a complete home from scratch ever in our lives (because even as students we probably begged, borrowed or stole most of which filled our tiny dorm rooms!)
So in this article we’re going to consider the problems that can arise when furnishing your overseas property and we’re going to suggest solutions; so whether the property is for your own use or for rental purposes this article should prove invaluable.
The first consideration is likely to be cost – because if money’s no object you don’t need to read this article you can just hire an interior designer and be done with it! The initial estimate you make for equipping your property will almost certainly be too low as it is very easy to underestimate the cost. Check the total value of furnishings in your own home contents insurance policy and you’ll probably be surprised how much a complete home costs to furnish.
We’ll look at ways of containing the cost later in this article, but make sure that your initial budget is realistic and then stick to it. Assess the costs carefully yourself; some property agents, if they do not have extensive furnishing experience, may suggest a furnishing cost which is too low and which would only finance furniture which is not of sufficiently durable quality – this can be a real problem in a jet-to-let property for example.
When setting your budget, a major consideration is the quality and style of the furnishings that you’re likely to want. If the property will be your own home, the choice of styles is yours, but a house which is purely a holiday home will obviously need a different furnishing approach compared with a home for permanent residence. If you are investing in a property for rental, there is a risk of being attracted to “cheap and cheerful” furnishings, so beware of three potential problems: -
1) In many countries the rental market is competitive, and a well-presented property should generate more business.
2) Secondly, continual use by clients who are on holiday will result in a high level of wear and tear, so furniture needs to be robust.
3) Finally, if you are planning for an eventual resale with the furnishings included, good quality furnishings will improve the sale potential.
Two additional suggestions for rental properties are that it is usually advisable to furnish them in a “neutral” style that any tenant will find acceptable for their stay, and one or more sofa beds in the lounge will make a useful addition to the sleeping capacity.
The next major consideration is the organisation involved in furnishing a property in another country. There are two choices, each of which has its pros and cons:
Either - buy all the furnishings yourself, (in the country concerned or in the UK and ship overseas)
Or use a business which provides complete home furnishing packages.
The advantage of the first choice is that you can browse around various shops to find the complete range of furnishings to meet your needs and taste, and use your design skills to create the home you want. But there are also two potential problems with this method. Firstly, the process of buying such a volume of essential furnishings is very time consuming – no problem if you have plenty of spare time, but you may not have that luxury. Additionally, you may not be familiar with the local stores, a factor which will increase the time you spend out hunting. If you are buying one or more properties for rental, you may not want to go through this time consuming process if you are keen to get your property ready for occupancy and starting to earn you some money.
The second potential problem is cost. If you are working to a strict budget, it becomes difficult to keep control of costs if you are buying a significant number of individual items; additionally, you may be incurring extra travel and accommodation expenses if you have to make trips specifically to buy your furnishings – or you will have a potentially huge bill for shipping if you source goods in the UK and send them overseas to your property.
The second choice is to use one of the businesses which provide complete home furnishing packages; their websites can be found on the internet. There are advantages to this approach, but also some pitfalls to watch out for. The principle advantage is the considerable saving of the time and effort you would otherwise spend in buying your furnishings and organising their delivery and fitting. You will be assured that your property will be ready to occupy as soon as you arrive, or your rental property will be completely furnished by an agreed date, enabling you to plan your lettings. Furthermore, you should make a saving by buying a complete package in this way, compared with the purchase of individual items from shops, as the package business will be buying in bulk from manufacturers.
If you are using this “complete package” approach, there are some important points to bear in mind. Satisfy yourself, from your initial dealings with the company, that they are reputable, have a professional approach, will not let you down and, importantly, have solid experience in the furnishing trade; you can, of course, be on site at the time of delivery and installation, but this may not be convenient and should be unnecessary if the supplier is reliable. In this connection, it is a distinct advantage if the company will visit you at home to discuss and confirm your requirements, if you wish, rather than conduct their business entirely over the internet. The range of products on offer within packages may not all meet your needs and be to your taste; check how flexible the business is in making changes to items within packages. Ensure there are no hidden costs, for example extra charges for delivery and installation, and make sure payment terms are clear (usually a deposit with order and the balance on, or just before, installation). Compare suppliers to see how comprehensive their packages are; businesses may have different concepts of “complete” lounge or bedroom furnishings, and may include or exclude a number of kitchen and bathroom fittings which you regard as essential.
The true extent of a package will of course be reflected in the price, so check that a cheaper package does provide everything you will need and is of acceptable quality. Finally, ensure that the business can commit to a completion date for installation which ties in with your plans.
Let’s turn now to a few specific matters which can easily be overlooked. Your property may well be in a location with a warmer climate, so give some thought to a good range of outdoor furniture. In the UK, we are used to the “barbecue summers” which never materialise, but in Mediterranean countries for example, outdoor living is a way of life (easy to adapt to!), so pay the same attention to your outdoor furniture as you do to your interior furnishings. On the other hand, don’t forget that such climates do have rainy winter months, so make sure covering or shelter is available to protect your furniture. Extra heat also has an impact on the choice of curtain materials; curtains will probably be of a lighter material (voile is often desirable) and, if the windows have shutters, the curtains will be purely for decoration. The climate may also dictate your choice of furniture fabrics; you may for example find lighter, softer fabrics more comfortable in higher temperatures.
Care should be taken in placing sofas in direct sunlight; constant exposure to harsh sunlight in warmer climates may cause fading, even in high quality products.
Finally, bear in mind that despite the EU’s apparent wish to apply uniformity to everything we buy, there are still some unexpected differences between the UK and the Continent when you are buying furnishings. Apart from the obvious differences in
electrical plugs, two small examples of the lack of uniformity are that standard bed sizes in Spain are slightly different from the UK, and a TV purchased in the UK will not work in Spain when you plug in your Spanish aerial!
In summary, assess the cost of furnishing carefully and realistically, plan the installation by the method which suits you, and take account of local conditions – and the home or rental property you desire will be complete.
With thanks to Michael Goldberg from MV Furnishings for his assistance with this article. MV Furnishing offer the complete home furnishing package to meet your needs – whether you’re after an affordable yet durable solution for a rental property, an eco friendly package for your own home abroad, a business package for a corporate let in a city-based rental property or a stunning and luxurious finish for your own home overseas. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (call + 44 (0) 750 466 9725) to find out all about his company and how he and his team can use their years of professional experience to take the hassle out of furnishing your property.
