Buying Furniture For Your Property - Part 1: Pre-Ordering

Of course, now that you have a lovely holiday home, you'll also need some furniture to make it all nice and comfortable!

You defintely won't have any problems buying suitable furniture. Florida (and the U.S.) have an abundance of furniture stores, and there will be something to suit almost every style and budget. When I was making my furniture purchases, I also found prices to be very favourable - and that's before you factor into account the weak dollar. Put it this way - bargains are to be had!

When I started furnishing my flat, I had contemplated pre-ordering certain large, key items - like a sofa, a table, perhaps even a bed - so they could be delivered on either the first or second day I was in Florida on my first visit to my flat.

In fact, what I had actually intended was to pre-order these items and get them delivered before my visit. (I would have asked my nice estate agent to let the delivery people in.) This would mean that I would at least have something comfy to sit on after a long flight!

What I subsequently found out is that ordering furniture online or by telephone from a well-known store is different to buying it in store - in terms of where items are dispatched from. If you go to, say Ikea, the sofa you want may well be in stock in your local store. Order it online, and it will be dispatched from a central warehouse in Pittsburgh and take 3 weeks to arrive!

If possible, I'd definitely try to pre-order items before your first trip out to your new vacation home. It just involves a little bit of careful planning, that's all!