Anyone have any tips on moving into their first home?

BugglyB

Nicki wrote: »

But first night in your own home is very special. Treat yourself to a nice bottle of wine and a takeaway if you are drinkers or some other nice great to celebrate the event.

This is a lovely tip and so true. I will never forget sitting on the floor of our spare room with no furniture or curtains and just a blow up bed, surrounded by boxes, eating pork sandwiches and drinking champagne out of camping mugs

Catty89

Thanks for the tips Just got my mortgage papers in and it says our first months payment is much higher than the rest of our payments so some of it has to go on that bleughh, think it is better to keep the money as dont want to end up adding up debt if anything does go wrong!!

Thanks:)

lostinrates

Catty89 wrote: »

Thanks for the tips Just got my mortgage papers in and it says our first months payment is much higher than the rest of our payments so some of it has to go on that bleughh, think it is better to keep the money as dont want to end up adding up debt if anything does go wrong!!

Thanks:)

The first month is always a killer.:(. Plus all the other extra expenses.

dizziblonde

As you get bits of stuff through the post to your old house (and new one if you put a redirect on) - write down who it's from and reference numbers/contact numbers so you end up building a masterlist of people to notify when the move's done and the phoneline's on for you to call 'em.

Put the bed together first and unpack some bedding and get it on - you'll appreciate it when you're knackered unpacking on the first night and just want to collapse wherever you land - that you've got somewhere warm and squishy to collapse in.

Remember which box you put the kettle and teabags in!

And don't do what we did and end up self-moving with a husband with man-flu, the worst snow in decades and muggins having to do the bulk of it solo!

kingfisherblue

Have one area for your bills - preferably something like a ringbinder file. Have another file for any insurance details, guarantees, etc - you may need to know where they are failrly quickly at some point.

Try to get in beforehand to give the place a clean.

Have a kettle, coffee, etc, plus toilet rolls, pen and paper, light bulbs, candles, matches and batteries handy on the day you move in.

Accept all offers of furniture, mugs etc - you can replace them as you are able to afford them.

Consider having a separate account for bills. We had an account that we transferred enough money for all direct debits, plus a bit extra. This meant that we didn't have to worry about there being enough cash for any DDs that were due later in the month. the bit extra came in handy if DDs rose in amount payable, and also acted as a mini savings account that we used for treats occasionally.

Have you considered the bits and bobs that you will need? Pegs, potato peeler, tin foil, bleach, dustpan and brush, etc? If someone offers to buy you something, you might want to suggest a box of items such as these - so much more useful than the usual presents.

Hope everything goes well for you, and that you enjoy your new home x

jackyann

I agree with all of the above.
My top tip is to spend as little as possible initially on furniture etc. as you need to find out what you need.
However, get as good a bed as you can afford (always have good shoes & a good bed as you're always in one or the other!)

I would add, if you are new to the area: watch out for local events, and go along to anything that takes your fancy.
Get the local parish magazine, whatever your religion (or not) as it usually has lots of info.
Keep some sort of notebook (page in your diary, note on your phone) of neighbours' names, and stuff you need to know locally.

fluffpot

You could try freecycle for furniture/house hold stuff like plates etc to start you off. Esp if you live in a large town or city. But be warned, things go fast - edit, I see you're in Liverpool!

A few months back we got rid of our old sofa bed to some youngsters who had just moved into a house and found out that it was unfurnished (mix up with the letting agent). So they got hold of a man with a van at the weekend (when most freecyclers list stuff), checked the listings, made lots of phone calls and drove around loading it up with free stuff! When I looked in there, there was a dining table and chairs, TV stand and flat screen TV (!), 2 beds, ikea lamps and a sofa! All for nothing! I was impressed with their enterprise!

And when you do start to replace these free items, you can freecycle them back!

Good luck in your new home

mishkanorman

One thing i feel we have done wrong in both our houses now is move in on the day it became ours thinking we would get round to the decorating 'as and when'

We have been in this house now for 8 years nearly and have only just done the dining room, there is still our bedroom to go before its 'finished' and im afraid we will have to start all over again by the time thats been done,

Its much harder to decorate when you have to live in it too, although our rooms all needed wallpaper taking off before we could paint I think we should have just taken a week or so to do the worst before moving in.

Old_Joe

Hopefully there are already curtain fixtures there as the cost of these might be a bit frightening otherwise??

thehappybutterfly

Don't invite your in laws around until your house is perfect.

I had mine round for Xmas lunch 2 weeks after getting the keys and moving in (which was only 2 days afetr we got married!) and the first thing MIL said was " what, you've not unpacked everything yet?" She's lucky she never got the turkey rammed over her head Joey Tribiani style