suggestions

Marketing:
Market your property honestly. If it is a budget property, market it as so. Never promise more than your property can deliver.

Carpets:
Keep carpets and tapestries looking new. Have them cleaned professionally at least once per year or more depending on the traffic in your property. If you have several carpets or large area rugs, a vacuum is necessary.

Water Heaters:
Gas and electric water heaters need yearly maintenance. Have your heaters descaled a minimum of once per year. Gas heaters that are used heavily need to be done twice per year. The cost of having them cleaned is inexpensive compared to having them replaced. The water in this area is extremely hard.

Septic tanks:
Products are available in the local hardware store to assist your septic tank in working more efficiently. These are particularly useful in eliminating odours from non-dissolved solids in the tank and are easy to use, you just drop a packet in the toilet and flush. Heavily rented properties need to do this every 3 months.

Dampness and Mold:
Houses that are closed over the winter months or for long periods of time really need to be monitored. If your home is to be vacant for a long period of time, be sure to leave curtains open in any room where it is safe to do so. Light and air are the best defense against mold and damp. Let the sun shine in!

Refuse Containers:
Be sure to have containers with snug fitting lids to stop unwanted visits by local cats and dogs. Clients staying in your home will not be happy if everyday they have to spend time picking up refuse off the street in front of your home.

Linens:
Do not purchase inferior bed linens and towels for your home. Inferior linens do not wear well, and will need to be replaced more often. Stay away from dark coloured sheets and towels as they fade and look worn long before their time. Oil stains from skin products also look more pronounced on dark coloured sheets. You need a minimum of 3 sets per bed.

Pictures:
Remember to have plenty of artwork on the walls. Artwork finishes a room off and gives it a much more lived in appearance.

Furniture:
Be careful when buying second hand furniture from the local shops. What seems like a good deal at the time can turn out to be an ongoing nightmare for the rest of the furniture already in your home. A lot of the older furniture in this area has wood-worm and it spreads like wild fire. Also to consider: If you are buying new furniture, you will probably come across a very popular style here that is extremely heavy. Besides the obvious problems associated with heavy furniture, this furniture is treated with just bee´s wax and stain. This furniture is marked easily and badly by both heat and water. These marks are permanent for the most part. Remember, it is not just the table tops that get ruined, but the chairs as well from wet bathing suits.

Knick Knacks & Plastic Flowers:
No. Don't do it. They are superfluous and great dust collectors.

Glassware:
Glassware is inexpensive here. Always have plenty of glassware on hand for your guests, and remember to have a set of plastic tumblers for use at the pool or for use by children.

Dishwashers:
It is important to the life of your machine that you keep the anti-cal tablets available for use by your clients. Guests will always buy the washing powder if they run out, but never the anti-cal tablets. Also on hand should be the dishwasher salt.

Cutting Boards:
Prolong the life of your counters by providing cutting boards. They are inexpensive. Despite what you hear, buy wood instead of plastic. Bacteria stays on plastic longer than wood, and the plastic ones never look clean after just a few uses.

The Mighty Teaspoon:
These always go missing so be sure to buy extra teaspoons, they can be purchased very cheaply at the local market, or the Morroccan Bazaars which are all over town.

Kitchen equipment:
You don't have to have a kitchen fit for a gourmet chef, but supply the basics. An electric kettle, toaster, microwave, cooking utensils, large and small cooking pots, several frying pans, an assortment of good sharp knives and lots of cutlery. Stay away from plastic handled cutlery as dishwashers destroy them.

Cleaning supplies:
Have a small amount of these products on hand for your clients to use. A good broom, mop and bucket are essential.

Games:
Games are an inexpensive form of entertainment. Many games can be downloaded free from the internet. Scrabble, cards and a couple sets of dice are great to have on hand too. Even supplying the rules to several different card games or dice games is good too. These can be downloaded at www.everyrule.com

Hot Box:
Do we have any glue? Where are the scissors, I have a head ache. With a hot box, you can have at your finger tips, all those things you can never find, but inevitably always need. Get a small plastic box with lid, label it HOT BOX, and place in the kitchen where everyone can see it. In it, put the following, writing paper, pens, lighter, asperin, allergy pills, scissors, glue, tape, tissue, lip balm, important telephone numbers, a sewing kit, safety pins, bandaids, washers,and a screwdriver. Never again waste your precious holiday time looking for things.
Have a suggestion for the hot box? Use our contact page, and let us know.

Books:
Having a small library for people to choose from is a welcome touch. Don't forget to have some children's books on hand as well.

Baby Cot and High Chair:
Having these available and listed on your website means that you can be considered for a rental by a family with small children.

Car Rentals:
Always advise your clients to take out the maximum insurance available on the car, especially if they are staying in the old town of Salobreña. Very few cars come away unscathed. On the upside, there is a very good and reasonable body shop that can match any paint, and can usually do the job quite quickly should your clients require work done on their cars.

Siesta:
Like most Spanish coastal towns, Salobreña still observes a traditional siesta. This means that lunch occurs between 2-4pm, and so the shops are therefore closed between 1:30-17:00pm. This may vary by 30 minutes or so between shops, but this is the standard. There are 3 supermarkets in town that do not observe siesta, they stay open 9:15-21:15, six days a week. Please note that the shops are shut on Sundays except for small corner convenience stores and Coveran Supermarket which opens, 930am-1400pm, after 1400, all shops are closed. Be sure to advise your incoming guests of this fact.

Most importantly:
Remember that a house has a life of its own and needs to be maintained if it is to have a long life.