Is it practical to rent unfurnished without a car?

[LuckyAC]

An apartment we are looking at is asking 1250 soles furnished vs. 950 unfurnished (basically a small fridge, an oven, a washing machine, a bed, and some random stuff like crappy sofa chairs, a table, a dresser. This seems iike too much of a difference for basic furnishing - even just looking new, I am seeing gas stoves at Curacao and Sodimac for 300 soles, decent sized fridge for 700 soles, washing machine for 500 soles. Looking on MercadoLibre, there are cheaper used. We could probably get everything for 3000 soles (including the fact that it's already used), so after 10 months, we'd be paying the same to rent as to own.

The problem is that we don't have a car, so it seems like it would be very hard to install this stuff in the first place, then just as hard again to move. But most Peruvians don't have cars, and it seems a good portion of places are unfurnished, which seems stupid to me - all that useless installing and removing and transporting. Should we just be looking for furnished places with less of a premium?

[LiveInPeru]

It's pretty easy to find small trucks for hire that will move furniture and appliances for you.

[chi chi]

Sodimac, La Hiraoka, Sagafallabella and Ripley have a delivery service for items bought at their store.

[stuart]

Buying the stuff - you can have it delivered.

Moving home - you pay some guys S/.150 or so carry everything out to their truck, drive it to your new place, and unload everything again at the other end.

[chi chi]

An apartment we are looking at is asking 1250 soles furnished vs. 950 unfurnished (basically a small fridge, an oven, a washing machine, a bed, and some random stuff like crappy sofa chairs, a table, a dresser. This seems iike too much of a difference for basic furnishing - even just looking new, I am seeing gas stoves at Curacao and Sodimac for 300 soles, decent sized fridge for 700 soles, washing machine for 500 soles. Looking on MercadoLibre, there are cheaper used. We could probably get everything for 3000 soles (including the fact that it's already used), so after 10 months, we'd be paying the same to rent as to own.
Should we just be looking for furnished places with less of a premium?

If you are intending to stay a long time in Peru then it's better to buy your own things. The advantage of renting an unfurnished place is that the owner can't retain money from your deposit to invented damage to his 'crappy' furniture. And most likely landlords do that.

I advice against buying the cheapest items. A gas stove for 300 soles, a washing machine for 500 soles and a 700 soles fridge aren't going to last long. It's better to spend a bit more on things that are going to last.

If you want to buy furniture then the best place is to buy is at the Parque Industrial in Villa El Salvador. The metro takes you there directly. The metro station is 5 minutes walk from the main street where they sell all the furniture. The shops are owned by the factories and they sell furniture at democratic prices.

[falconagain]

It really depends on how long are you staying, what is your income and where you are staying.
When I stayed in Lima for 3 years (2008-2010), I bought many things that I would not buy with
the knowledge that I have now for my personal situation.

I bought a home gym (weights, bench, barbells, dumbells) paying in separate amounts a total
that I could used in buying a home gym machine ($250 dollars at the moment), then I bought
a fridge at the curacao for 250$, but the fridge malfunctioned 4 times and the time it took
me to get them to honor their warranty would have been better spent in paying an additional
100$ at Falabella and have no problems.

After that I bought a Juicer ($100) which I found out that I did not like at all.

Now, my room was in San Miguel, I was paying 220 or 200 soles; it was furnished with a bed,
table, private bathroom, and I had cable, wifi and laundry at the time. You need to find out
what you really need and what you do not need before buying anything.

[Innocent Bystander]

On Calle Varela Orbegoso, just north of Ricardo Palma, there are always guys with trucks hanging out there waiting to be hired for just this purpose. Not sure what they charge, but I imagine it's quite a bit cheaper than most official divery services.

[chi chi]

Not sure what they charge, but I imagine it's quite a bit cheaper than most official divery services.

They are all quite expensive.

[Alpineprince]

Last week I paid s/.50 to hire a truck for a few hours to deliver tree's,Maleta's and dirt to my rooftop garden on the 16th floor and I felt so bad, I tipped him an extra S/20.

[Sergio Bernales]

There's some good advice here and hiring a man and a van is pretty cheap, especially if you're moving home and need a lot of stuff moved. However, if you're buying new things, I found the department stores like Saga and Ripley have some great offers online and they do delivery for a nominal fee. It seemed to be cheaper than buying in-store and asking for delivery there. You also get a year's guarantee (sometimes two) and you can check your stuff when it arrives to make sure it's not damaged - if it is, you refuse to accept it and get them to take it back.

They also have one day special web offers and ahora o nunca offers for stock clearance. I got 300 soles off a washing machine and 200 soles off a TV on a one day internet offer at Ripley. It cost me an extra 10 soles for each item to get them delivered. They came three days after I ordered them, but I think you pay more if you need them quicker or at a specific time. Charges can also vary from district to district and if you live on a higher floor and things have to be carried up the stairs. Make sure and and double check this when you make your order.

For furniture, it's worth having a look at Plaza Hogar in Surquillo. I don't think it's as cheap as people make out, but if you haggle, you can sometimes get a reasonable deal and they will deliver. Make sure and get a quote before you buy, then go and compare it with something similar in the department stores.

If you've got a Ripley or CRM card, the offers are even better, but never pay on instalment as the interest charges are extortionate, over 50%.

http://www.ripley.com.pe/webapp/wcs/sto ... ogId=10051

http://www.falabella.com.pe/falabella-pe/

[LuckyAC]

Thanks, everyone. It definitely seems like it's an option, though still a downside due to the loss of flexibility. We ended up taking a different furnished one this time.