Furniture Packs - Furniture Direct Worldwide?

[David Graham 1000]

Geraldine.

I like you cannot speak highly enough of Silvia. She has furnished 2 apartments for me in Bucharest at what I deemed a very reasonable cost. The kitchens were hand made to measure by Romanian Carpenters as was a lot of the other furniture such as beds, wardropes, tables and shelving. The construction quality was in my opinion of a much higher quality than the stuff bought in the shops and more importantly, more durable for renting. They did an exceptional job on the construction and fitting of it and the mirrored slide robes being made to measure really complimented the bedrooms at a cost I do not belive I could have secured in a week of searching myself.

I also found that there were things I wanted to put into the apartment that Silvia advised against and other things I would not have put into the apartments that she advised to put in.

I initially took her advice on the first apartment and did not put in all that I wanted, nor did I put in which she wanted in order to reduce cost. Within a week she was back to me with a tenant subject to me putting in the washing machine and a few other small things that she had initially advised. She then told me I could either spend another 600 euro and have the apartment rented that day or wait maybe a month and have to possibly drop the price or then add the initially mentioned objects which would have cost me the 600 requested.

Needless to say on the 2nd property I was going to give her a free reign. Instead she brought me a tenant looking a 3 year contract at what we both deemed to be an extortionate rent subject to furnishing to the tenants specification. Admittedly it was not furnished to my taste, but the extra 200 euro per month, increasing by 10% per that she gets for me over 3 years certainly soothes my distaste of the tenants choice.

My advice to anyone is not to try to do what I did and cut to many corners. Get get someone like Silvia who not only knows what they are doing, but also knows the market and can get you tenants. Otherwise cheap will not be enough and you will be asked for further money to do the job right.

Like you Geraldine I cannot speak highly enough of the service Silvia has provided for us. I would have no hesitation in reccomending her to anyone considering furnishing a property in Romania

Originally Posted by geraldine

Hi there,
I understand all too well the confusion and frustration of trying to get the best value all round, including furniture packs, good quotations for total renovation of apartments, not to mention the frustration of how time consuming all of it is when I do not speak Romanian myself. 1 year ago myself and my partner started buying some property, firstly in Brasov, subsequently 2 off-plan in Bucharest, and now again a renovation apartment in Brasov. We initially purchased through Investment Romania after being messed around by other people. We consulted a number of companies about furniture packs and subsequently decided to stay with Investment Romania for the following reasons. Firstly there attention to detail in dealing with us regarding purchase was second to none. We never had to worry about not speaking the language here or being left on our own to do stuff. Secondly, professionalism tells with this outfit in terms of the time they devoted to our needs as regards what the best way to furnish our apartment in Brasov was within our budget constraints. The apartment is a large 2 bedroomed apartment, and Silvia from Investment Romania took the burden of furnishing from us at a very realistic price, right down to candlesticks that I required. We have 2 studios coming onstream in Bucharest and have already booked Silvia at Investment Romania to handle the furniture pack, and Investment Romania to manage the rentals of same. We are at the moment renovating an office space on Republicii in Brasov, using a construction company owned by Investment Romania, again the work is being done to a superb finish as was the first one they did for us. We will be using Silvia again to choose office furniture suitable for the market here, and Investment Romania to rent and manage same. Overall, I can recommend Silvia at Investment Romania for exceptional quotes for furniture packs, professionalism, and meeting deadlines. My experience with them has been all good. If anyone wishes to ask me more, feel free to mail me. Larger companies have larger overheads, thus the person buying the furniture pack pays for this. Stress free dealings with any company is what the client wants, and again I must say I can highly recommend Silvia and the Investment Romania team, who have 8 years good track record in dealing with all aspects of client based needs.

Geraldine.

[greenhorizonsproperty]

I don't know this company, but one of the first things I do if I want to find out more about a company is to do a "whois" search on the web address. This often reveals the company or individual behind the website. In this case the website owner is masked and noted as identity-secured dot com

I have to ask the question why this company does not want to be able to be identified?

On a slightly different matter, there is a company who is currently under legal proceedings in the Costa del Sol for defrauding purchasers, developers and agents of millions of euros over the past three years or so. Last thing I knew about them they were offering to take advanced orders on furniture packs (ten percent deposit) for delivery months ahead!

Be careful out there.

Colin

[David howe]

Dear Greenhorizionproperty

I totally agree with the advice you give hre and should b done with every company and person people are dealing with. However, your post is abiguos. You say 'This company' yet you do not name them to the confusion of us all.

Can you name the company as to whom you refer for the benefit of all mmbers reading please.

David Howe LLB. LLM

INVESTMENT ROMANIA - Investment in Romanaia, Property management, Due diligence, Renting in Romania

[Rob Cooper]

Hi

We have a place in Brasov and have recently used White Muntain Property to help with house repairs and also to purchse some additional furniture for us - just to say I wa impressed with their service and would recommend

All the best

Rob Cooper

[mary louise]

Like both Graham and Geraldine - hi to you both - we (my husband and I) went to Bucharest two years ago and met Sylvia who was our guide, our driver, our translator, our making sure we didnt get into something that would be a disaster person. As they say in 'Greys Anatomy' she was our 'Person'. Everything is now managed by the excellent team at Investment Romania and we too furnished it through Sylvia - whose taste by the way is of deisgner quality and we are delighted to say we have a long term tenant who simply loves what Sylvia did with the place. So are we and the rentals great.

A word of warning - we nearly made the mistake of going with another company, big, flash, passive aggressive, narcissitic and we Thank-god we met The Team at Investment Romania instead. Dont know if I can name them but they have the same name for a scan my husband went for - ***. They based in the Costa del Something or other.

We will probably be buying a second apt in the near future and we know who we trust to do that through.

Mary Louise

[geraldine]

Originally Posted by mary louise

Like both Graham and Geraldine - hi to you both - we (my husband and I) went to Bucharest two years ago and met Sylvia who was our guide, our driver, our translator, our making sure we didnt get into something that would be a disaster person. As they say in 'Greys Anatomy' she was our 'Person'. Everything is now managed by the excellent team at Investment Romania and we too furnished it through Sylvia - whose taste by the way is of deisgner quality and we are delighted to say we have a long term tenant who simply loves what Sylvia did with the place. So are we and the rentals great.

A word of warning - we nearly made the mistake of going with another company, big, flash, passive aggressive, narcissitic and we Thank-god we met The Team at Investment Romania instead. Dont know if I can name them but they have the same name for a scan my husband went for - ***. They based in the Costa del Something or other.

We will probably be buying a second apt in the near future and we know who we trust to do that through.

Mary Louise

Hello Mary Louise,
I know that we nearly went with a company that we may have had to kiss our deposit goodbye, but like you and your husband we were saved or spared when we met Investment Romania. Great to give credit where it is due. I meant to say it in my previous post, but because of the standard or work done by investment Romania,s renovation experts, at very competative rates, and the subsequent furnishing by Silvia, which is superb and in keeping with the 500 year old apartment in Brasov, we were asked if PRO-TV no less could do some filming of the outside and inside of our apartment. It was actually shown on national television, so I am thinking now that when I can locate this piece from PRO-TV, I can put it on u- tube, and give the link through this forum if allowed to do so, as it is good to see quality furnishings without costing a fortune, it is good to see that this can be achieved by Silvia that I speak of, and nothing is any trouble to her and she is always with a smile. We can talk a lot about furnishings and furniture packs, but seeing is believing . As soon as I locate the piece I will be back on with the link, and I have no doubt that it may help some people that like the style of furniture, and others it may give them an idea of what they do not want. Either way, Silvia can tailor taste and budget to any apartment. Look forward to feedback and comments.

Geraldine.

[wmp]

Aha Gr, is yours the lovely apartment with the period fittings & furtniture, in which Haydn Deane uses the wash basin as a hat stand in the footage, shot & aired in Feb 08? I did have that but have lost it. It wwas entitles something like, 'after bulgaria, English invest in Brasov' or something similar? If you can't find it, I may have the email address somewhere of the interviewer on the footage. I had the video as a favourite before my laptop died, & hence now don't.

Damian

[geraldine]

Originally Posted by wmp

Aha Gr, is yours the lovely apartment with the period fittings & furtniture, in which Haydn Deane uses the wash basin as a hat stand in the footage, shot & aired in Feb 08? I did have that but have lost it. It wwas entitles something like, 'after bulgaria, English invest in Brasov' or something similar? If you can't find it, I may have the email address somewhere of the interviewer on the footage. I had the video as a favourite before my laptop died, & hence now don't.

Damian

Hello Damien,
Yes, we are speaking of the same apartment. I am sure you understand why we are so chuffed with the renovation work by Investment Romania construction team and Silvia of Investment Romania as regards the choice of furnishings. She has flair and imagination. As soon as I can I will source the video so people can see why we are so pleased.


Geraldine.

[wmp]

Geraldine,

I found it.

It was entitled "După Bulgaria, englezii cuceresc şi piaţa imobiliară românească" & my flat renovation was filmed after yours in the sequence of 3 apartments.

The link is here, ProTV Video. I was impressed with yours, so I'd agree with the coimment about choice of decor, a good mix of contemparary & traditional. Nicely done & an inspiration to other property holders who have held back from renovating what are otherwise lovely period investment properties.

If you know how to get it onto youtube, please educate me!

That same apartment is shown start to end in the folloiwng youtube video YouTube - Period Apartment Renovation White-Mountain-Property.Com, put together as a showcase for what we now do here also, having set up White Mountain to do the same thing in Brasov.

Thankfully though, we've migrated to more simple jobs like kitchens & fit outs for new apartments - I don't relish moving walls around in this heat (35') so soon after the last few killer renovations (well, 3)!

Hope the ProTV link helps anyway.

Damian

[geraldine]

Originally Posted by wmp

Geraldine,

I found it.

It was entitled "După Bulgaria, englezii cuceresc şi piaţa imobiliară românească" & my flat renovation was filmed after yours in the sequence of 3 apartments.

I was impressed with yours, so I'd agree with the coimment about choice of decor, a good mix of contemparary & traditional. Nicely done & an inspiration to other property holders who have held back from renovating what are otherwise lovely period investment properties.

If you know how to get it onto youtube, please educate me!


Thankfully though, we've migrated to more simple jobs like kitchens & fit outs for new apartments - I don't relish moving walls around in this heat (35') so soon after the last few killer renovations (well, 3)!

Hope the ProTV link helps anyway.

Damian

Hello Damien,
Thanks for the link to my propery on Pro-TV, but had located it meantime. Investment Romania had the link for me when I asked them. Again thanks for the trouble.
I have looked with serious interest at the renovation in Piata Sfatului as it is a stuning square and to me all original walls, timber and sobas, etc, should be kept if there is any effort regarding restoration as opposed to renovation. It has clarified for me that the Investment Romania team restored, as opposed to renovating my apartment on Rebublicii. I note the use of plasterboard in your renovation and wonder if this was choice of the owners to save on cost, or did they just leave it up to white Mountain to decide? Were any or all of the gas pipes showing so vividly in the video even boxed in on completion of the job? Personally a good, no, excellent finish is required by me, no pipework showing, kickboard under kitchen presses, and above all, NO plasterboard. Why would anyone in their right mind not want to let these hand crafted brick walls not live and breathe?

In essence your renovations look okay, but for any client wanting restoration as opposed to renovation, there is no doubt now in my mind that experience of same is the key to a quality finish in these magnificent apartments-after all, they are historical buildings and should be treated as such. I wish you the best of good luck with your renovations, but Investment Romania have 8 years experience, and there is no substitute for that.

Geraldine.