Appliances - how does this work?

FranticFrummie

Tue, Jun 02 2015, 3:13 pm

HELP, I'm so confused! Scratching Head

I'm trying to get as much done ahead of time as possible, so we won't spend a fortune living in a hotel while we wait for the apartment to be livable.

We found an apartment, and of course, no appliances are included. We're still in the US, and we'd like to have the appliances installed before we arrive.

My Hebrew is horrible, so I can't shop most of the Israeli appliance stores online. Do you know of any Israeli websites that are in English? If you can suggest good brands, that would be helpful, too.

How do I apply my Nefesh b'Nefesh discounts to the purchases? Can I do that when we pay, or do we get refunds when we arrive, or what? N b'N is not at all clear about this.

What about scheduling and paying for hook up?

I'm waiting for a call back from the landlord, but I'd love to hear from any of you who have had to make similar arrangements.

amother

Vermilion

Tue, Jun 02 2015, 3:43 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

How do I apply my Nefesh b'Nefesh discounts to the purchases? Can I do that when we pay, or do we get refunds when we arrive, or what? N b'N is not at all clear about this.

What about scheduling and paying for hook up?

I am not aware of any Nefesh B'Nefesh discounts on appliance purchases. You should contact NBN about which stores accept that and how to arrange that.

We made Aliyah to Ramat Beit Shemesh, a friend took us to the appliance store where she bought her appliances and we purchased a washer/dryer and whatever else we needed and arranged to have it delivered.

I think you may need to wait to do that when you arrive. Be prepared to be pushy and create a sob story that you are a new Oleh and have nothing, otherwise it may take weeks for delivery. If you have hebrew speaking family or friends take them with you to the store.

grace413

Tue, Jun 02 2015, 4:23 pm

You will not be able to buy anything with a new immigrant discount until you are actually in Israel with your teudat oleh. I don't think there are that many discounts left.

If you are not here, who will be there to let the delivery people in? I would be very wary of trusting a landlord with this. Also, do you know the dimensions of the kitchen? A lot of apartments have very specific niches for fridge, oven and washers.

When we came we brought air mattresses in our luggage and slept on them until our lift arrived. We had no oven, stove, washer for 6 weeks. After we were here a week, one of our wonderful neighbors discovered we had no fridge and lent us a mini-fridge they had. I can't say it was fun but we lived to tell the tale.

Also when you move in, check the water/gas/electric meter readings so that you aren't paying for utilities used before your arrival.

You might want to consider renting a car for the first few weeks you are here.

Happy to hear that you are coming soon.

Smile1234

Tue, Jun 02 2015, 4:59 pm

My experience has been that once you order an appliance, you need to wait to receive it before you can order the installation. The installation technicians need to be the ones taking the appliance out of the box or you forfeit the warranty.

AinOdMilvado

Thu, Jun 04 2015, 2:52 pm

um. at the risk of sounding like a spoiled jap....if you're used to American appliances and there's a chance you'll have room for it (and you haven't yet sent your lift, and you are sending a lift) I HIGHLY recommend getting US appliances....I'm here over 10 years and I cannot live without my American oven (imagine never being able to put in more than one cookie sheet, a whole challah recipe etc to bake), my US freezer just broke down beyond fixing after 10 yrs and they don't sell anything like it here (the most is 6-8 drawers which don't fit close to the same amount as 1 shelf in the US freezer)...you can special order 1 brand US freezer here but it's double the price (@$2000) after meches - taxes - and the store's profit....new olim get 1 of each appliance/furniture tax- free on their lift so it's half of that....

for things you do need to get in israel, if you do know someone by you who is good in hebrew, an excellent price comparison/shopping site for appliances and many other things is zap.co.il (I'll be happy to look up range of prices for specific items if you give me a list of items you want to know about). I don't know about nbn discounts, never heard of them existing but maybe it's a new thing...

Feel free to PM me on anything aliyah related, what you can get here or not, where, costs of stuff here, etc

Iymnok

Thu, Jun 04 2015, 3:09 pm

We just bought a bunch of new appliances for our new house. First do the research on each one. You want the purchase to be worthwhile. Then find the cheapest place online to get it. We've had them come in two days. Dh did the research for us, but is happy to share his methods and results with anyone!

4Sisters

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 11:02 pm

I have a related question (not sure if this will help you, FF and, if not, I apologize for highjacking....):

we're coming b''eH in August and planning to rent for a year. How do you decide what to buy for appliances if the kitchen niches are so unique? (And I believe that they are b/c I have looked at a lot of real estate online). What if we buy a range and then, when we buy our apartment next year, the kitchen is set up to have two wall ovens and a 4-burner cooktop?! Do you just guess what to buy and daven a lot?!

eli7

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 5:20 am

Another possibility would be to buy a small fridge, two-burner hotplate (or two one-burners, if you want to have separate for milk and meat), and a small toaster oven when you arrive to hold you over while you work out the big appliances. You can find these in any mall or city center shopping area and bring them home in a taxi (many taxi services have vans available; just ask when you call) or some places deliver. I don't know about the price of a small fridge, but the burners and toaster oven can be found for 150-200 shekels, maybe even less. Definitely less than a hotel stay and you get a small taste of the pioneer experience!

Wishing you a successful and happy aliya!

water_bear88

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 5:35 am

4Sisters wrote:

If you're only renting for a year, daven you find somewhere to rent that already has some of the appliances. From experience, if you know you'll be moving again and might have to sell appliances that don't fit in your new place, go for less-expensive options. You'll be able to recoup more of the price. I recommend looking at the for-sale section (by appliance) on yad2.co.il for an estimate of how much you might be able to get. I second AinOdMilvado's recommendation of zap.co.il for price comparison.

amother

Vermilion

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 6:13 am

4Sisters wrote:

You could buy used appliances.

Or you could try to resell your appliances if they don't fit in your new place.