First time mortgage and possible other borrowing...

ncfc1980

So I've just had confirmation that my FTB 95% mortgage with NatWest has been approved and my offer should be in the post Wed or Thu. I've been and paid for my searches today, and really feel like things are starting to move at a pace.

My new house is significantly larger than my current rental property (2 x lounges, conservatory, dining room, breakfast room), so I'll need quite a bit of new furniture, eg, conservatory furniture, sofa bed for second lounge, dining table etc. Whilst I realise it's not necessary to have everything the moment I move in, I'm trying to think of the most cost effective way of doing this, as I won't be left with loads of spare cash following the move. Obviously I realise there's options with the likes of Gumtree and Ebay and of course friends etc, I'd like to at least get some new stuff of my own.

My thoughts are probably to get a credit card with 0% purchases (Virgin have one offering 25 months 0% on purchases, and there's other similar ones) buy what I need and pay back the balance over the 2 years.

So this leads to 2 questions....

1 - Is this a realistic option so soon after applying for a mortgage?

2 - At what point would it be safe to apply for a credit card? I'm assuming I don't want to do anything until the sale is completed and the mortgage has actually been drawn down, as I would guess anything prior to the funds actually being issued has the potential to lead to a revised offer?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

jaxkesa

Don't apply for any borrowing until after completion or risk losing your offer. Remember you don't *need* all that new furniture to fill up your rooms.

Malmo

As above. No credit applications before completion.

Cost effective is to make do with freebies and giveaways until you are able to afford what you need with cash. Make use of Freecycle, friends and family who have stuff to give away and charity furniture shops like the BHF.

darcyboo

I know we often have a vision for how we want our new homes to look, but I'd strongly advise sticking within your means and 'making do' until you can afford to buy whatever it is you want outright.

WellKnownSid

Plenty of local charities run specialist furniture shops up and down the country. Not only do you fill your house with better quality furniture than the disposible new stuff, you get to talk about your "unique collection" at the house warming and how you've helped local charities to boot.

When you get bored with it, donate it back to charity and buy something else, or upgrade it by sanding it down to turn it into shabby chic.

Contemptuous

We've just bought our first family home and it's a fair size bigger. We utilised eBay, Gumtree and Facebook selling pages to furnish the place. Don't forget you can put your own stamp on the furniture (we've sanded and painted some). Yes it does mean our house doesn't look like a show home, and it doesn't all quite match, but it's all been paid for with cash and we still have nil balances on our CC's.

As others have said, if you insist on paying for things with credit then definitely don't apply until the mortgage funds have been released.

Yorkie1

Another positive reason to delay most of the purchases, is because you often need to live in a place in order to decide what would work best in it.

ed67812

Agree with all of the above. DO NOT apply for anything until the mortgage is alive and kicking.

You will not believe the price of even essentials when you move house and it is so easy (I am incredibly careful and I did it) to overspend. It's not just furniture, most people realise they need a power drill, a step ladder, paint brushes etc etc etc when setting up home. It isn't just furniture. I know nothing of your circumstances, but you are on a 95% mortgage, so (like 99% us) you aren't rolling in it.

Enjoy your new house (sounds awesome) but just go steady. There is something great about sitting in two old deckchairs watching a movie with the TV on an old wooden crate in your big, new, clean but spartan house.

Yorkie1

When I first moved into an unfurnished place, a friend said that all I needed initially was a chair to sit on when watching TV, and a bed to sleep on (the house had white goods and I had cooking utensils etc).

They were right!

Jhoney_2

ncfc1980 wrote: »

So I've just had confirmation that my FTB 95% mortgage with NatWest has been approved and my offer should be in the post Wed or Thu. I've been and paid for my searches today, and really feel like things are starting to move at a pace.

My new house is significantly larger than my current rental property (2 x lounges, conservatory, dining room, breakfast room), so I'll need quite a bit of new furniture, eg, conservatory furniture, sofa bed for second lounge, dining table etc. Whilst I realise it's not necessary to have everything the moment I move in, I'm trying to think of the most cost effective way of doing this, as I won't be left with loads of spare cash following the move. Obviously I realise there's options with the likes of Gumtree and Ebay and of course friends etc, I'd like to at least get some new stuff of my own.

My thoughts are probably to get a credit card with 0% purchases (Virgin have one offering 25 months 0% on purchases, and there's other similar ones) buy what I need and pay back the balance over the 2 years.

So this leads to 2 questions....

1 - Is this a realistic option so soon after applying for a mortgage?

2 - At what point would it be safe to apply for a credit card? I'm assuming I don't want to do anything until the sale is completed and the mortgage has actually been drawn down, as I would guess anything prior to the funds actually being issued has the potential to lead to a revised offer?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Firstly congratulations on your mortgage offer, :beer:.

I would just caution against doing anything until you at least exchange on the property in question.

I understand your wish to have some things of your own, however regarding the highlighted section :-

Why not buy ONE table and locate wherever in the home you would like to eat - if you enjoy the garden views, put it in there. You do not need to move around three rooms to eat meals so that can wait. Supplement this by buying a couple of food trays in the short term.

A sofa bed? You haven't bought the place and you are buying ' crash over furniture' ? lol.

Also, it's a good time to think about decorating - saving you risk of damage and inconvenience of moving/protecting them after purchase. It also means you/workman can proceed unhindered, especially getting rid of the dust...

If it's a family home, just furnish bedrooms that will be in immediate use!

Do it your way, but pace yourself and prioritise.

Good luck with it, but definitely not before you complete on your mortgage as per posts above.