3. Moving to Spain and a Cleaning Business
In 2014, my wife, Valeriya Vlasenko, our son Volodya, and I moved to Spain, and a new chapter in our lives began. A little later, our daughter Melaniya was born.

 

My wife and I opened a cleaning company for apartment cleaning services. We bought a vacuum cleaner, Karcher cleaning machines, and started a new venture. Initially, we charged 10 euros per hour to clean apartments and would clean one apartment per day. Half a year later, we were earning 20 euros per hour and began cleaning villas. In a day, we could clean two apartments or one villa. Sometimes villas were very large, where cleaning could take three days, so we hired additional workers to help.

I performed many different tasks: taking out all the trash, vacuuming, mopping floors, cleaning furniture, washing terraces, and cleaning the pool and garden (for which we hired a trained specialist).

We observed how people maintained their homes and apartments and learned how to do it properly and efficiently—why it’s needed and which aspects are crucial.

Maintaining a villa is an ongoing process. The competence of the person in charge determines the property’s overall condition, appearance, and value.
From experience, you can only sell a property at a high or slightly above-market price if it’s in perfect, well-maintained condition.

“You walk into one house and everything looks clean and tidy, but it still seems tired—like a withered flower—and many people don’t understand why. They assume it’s just old age. Then you enter another house, not new either, but it gleams and feels full of life. You walk in, and it gives you joy and a sense of awe, like a blossoming flower. A well-maintained home is always valued higher and finds a new buyer faster.”

If a person doesn’t understand what quality cleaning is, they will never be able to correctly assess the work of the people who do it.

Proper property maintenance is very important. If you get a handle on it, it’s not that complicated, and it’s easy to monitor all the processes. I’m glad to consult our friends on how to maintain their property and keep it in excellent condition.
I write instructions for people on how to look after a specific house or apartment, help them find staff, and train them in all the nuances.

We don’t just help people choose and purchase a property; we also help them maintain it well.

By operating as a cleaning company, we gained invaluable experience. Our clients included property owners and people who rented out their property. We also had partners who owned about 50 apartments for short-term rentals, and they needed continuous cleaning.

• Some owners ran their short-term rental business in a very mediocre way: they thought cleaning wasn’t important and only chased profit. In the long term, they usually lost out, as they ended up with reduced overall profits.

• Others taught us a lot: they dedicated a lot of time to monitoring cleaning and the property’s technical condition, paid close attention to every detail, thoroughly checked on our work after each cleaning, and always called if they found even a single hair on the floor. I learned how to vacuum so well that, upon entering any house, I see every speck of dust on the floor and can instantly assess the quality of maintenance.

Often, cleaners are women who have many of their own problems, and they mostly think about finishing up quickly and leaving, without considering the property’s future condition. But I would lift every rug, move cabinets, sofas, armchairs, tables, and thoroughly vacuum everywhere with my powerful, expensive vacuum cleaner. An ordinary cleaning lady physically couldn’t do this (and likely wouldn’t want to). All our clients said that nobody cleans so thoroughly, attentively, and responsibly as we do.

“If two women arrive for a general house cleaning, it’s already clear that they won’t be able to do it 100%. At a minimum, they won’t be able to move heavy furniture, so dust will remain under rugs and furniture. Many don’t even look under the bed; they only clean what’s visible. But a property’s shine depends on those jobs that aren’t immediately seen yet are done thoroughly.”

We learned a great deal, and now we help our friends keep their properties in excellent condition!