House Buying Bits and Bobs - Crazy Idea??

Pineapple1989

Hello,

I was just hoping to get a few opinions...
Me and my partner are looking to buy our own place shortly, most likely a year, to a year and a half away to be honest. We currently live apart and are both saving as much as possible.

I recently went out with my mum, having a little browse through a store when she mentioned possibly starting to buy little bits for a house - for when we do move, and take the final step to owning our own property.
Thinking about it I will have the space to store bits, but do you think it is possibly a little too soon? Or do you think it is a good idea seeing as due to the recession, most items are getting more expensive!?

Obviously not to go crazy and overboard and to start buying tables and chairs! Lol.

Sorry as well as I wasn't too sure where the right place would be to post this!

jc808

bad idea............

shegirl

Awkward one.What kind of things would you be buying?I'd worry about no longer liking/wanting the items when you do buy a house.I also think it should be a joint thing.

It's up to you though.I'm moving and decided a year ago to do so.It took a while to find the perfect house but I knew exactly how I'd be decorating (bit of a fetish of mine)so have bought bits on sale over the year (rugs and little bits like that) but they've been driving me mad cluttering up my house:o Thankfully though,we're about to move (unless a third set of bloomin hiccups with the house!) so I've been selling bits from my old house lol

Only do it if you're sure and know it's what you want,won't change your mind and you aren't buying it just because it's daftly cheap only to then replace it to fit your style.

shegirl

The other thing to consider is if things go pear shaped you're left with all that stuff and no house.Guess,I could excuse myself because I already had one and am single,but,it may be quite harsh on you.

Pineapple1989

Yeah there are pros and cons to the decision, and I fully understand that...
I fully agree on the taste point as well, as I may studdenly decide that the colour may not even fit in with the colour of the house and maybe even it doesn't necessarily suit my tastes when it does come to it!
With regards to bits going pear shaped... That is also true, but (touch wood!) it didn't... But if it did, I guess I would go it alone and move at some point? Even if it did take me a bit longer. My goal is to own a house and that is what I want to drive towards.
But yeah of course some good points raised! Thank you for throwing them up

Mayflower10cat

This makes me think of my Mum and her 'bottom drawer' as she called it. She and my Dad bought their first home to move into after they were married back in the early 60's. In the year before, every week from her wages, she'd buy just one little thing towards The New House; (often something as small as an egg slicer). With various bits of second hand furniture given by their parents, they moved in and at least could prepare a basic meal! I thought it was a charming thing to do and must have been exciting watching all these little purchases add up.

kitschkitty

Also the more stuff you have to take with you to your new home the bigger vehicle/more trips you will need to get it there which can/will cost more too.

jellie

Won't you each have accumulated lots of things anyway in your current homes?

I might be tempted to separately put aside just a little bit each month for the non-essential but nice things for when you do move.

blossomhill_2

I think you should wait a bit

I wouldn't worry about prices increasing; there is always so much good stuff on freecycle, (if there is one in your area) and generous people who want to help out young starters that you are unlikely to be unable to furnish your home, and personally I'd like to think you could move in fancy free and unencumbered and then have the fun of building a home together

My parents were always proud of the fact that they strated off with wooden orange boxes covered in tray cloths my mum had embroidered instead of tables

A bottom drawer used to be just that - one drawerful ... so if you could restrict yourself to that ...

I also think the things you aspire to now will be influenced by fashions and in a year or two will seem dated - when I moved I had gold plated pastry forks (!) and elegant soup bowls with their own saucers but no money for basics!

Of course it is down to your preference ... but a lot of hoarding starts this way, it is aspirational and if the event that you are planning for changes/doesn't happen/gets postponed, the items could remind you of what you had hoped for and become hard to move on

Would you have time/cash to do a short course in something like shabby chic? - that could inspire you to look for junk shop bargains and give you more flexibility in what would fit into your home decor once you move

And a few visits to a wide range of properties (via magazines/open house events/design museums) to help you see a wider range of styles and tastes than is available in stores

All the best, it's an exciting time whatever you plump for!

TimBuckTeeth

I would put the money aside and wait to buy. Buying now will just clutter up your current living space, and items may not be ideal for your new house. With electrical items the warranty will have run out before you use them.

PasturesNew

Just create a scrapbook. Years ago you'd collect over a few years for your Bottom Drawer, which would, by then, have amounted to a few sheets and a few pots and maybe some plates. Nowadays there's no need for this because the day you move in you can walk down to the nearerst supermarket or small town and pick up all the stuff you need.

Just collect ideas and photos and magazine cut outs for now in a scrapbook.