Budgeting for buying a new home as FTB

Chloe_L

Hello everyone,

I am looking to put an offer in for a property next week, and I have had my mortgage approved subject to a satisfactory valuation being carried out on the property. The purchase price I am aiming for is £125,000, and the loan amount is £118,750. The property is in Glasgow. The interest rate is 1.99% (1.74% above base) with repayments of around £360 on a 40 year mortgage term.

I am 28 years old, currently in full time employment on a basic salary of £24,000, with a net monthly income of around £1580 after all deductions. I am looking to buy on my own and would rather not have anyone else named on the mortgage or on the deeds.

The problem I am having is just getting my head around whether I can actually afford everything. I do not own anything, so I will have to purchase literally everything for the house.

I currently have around £25,000 in savings. From this, I will be using £6,250 as a deposit. I am budgeting around £2,000 for a reputable solicitor. The mortgage deal I am getting has no arrangement or valuation fees. I will keep around £1,750 aside also in case any other unexpected things arise through the way. This will leave me around £15,000.

The mortgage deal I am getting has an offset facility, so I will be taking advantage of this with any spare funds.

However I have never bought a property before, and I literally have never bought a tin of paint or an item of furniture in my life. The flat I am looking to buy is spacious and I will need to buy everything, from TV's to couches to carpets and fridges to other general furnishings, and I am conscious that things can quickly add up cost wise.

So my question is, is anyone able to give me a rough estimate of how much it actually costs to furnish a whole property? Am I over stretching myself with the budget I have?

Also I have heard scare stories of people who buy flats who get hit with unexpected bills through maintenance of the building. Is this something that a solicitor will highlight before I buy it? And finally, I have also been told that in Scotland we do not have any freehold or leasehold properties, and everything is feudal, I am just wondering how this works in the context of a flat?

Sorry for the long post,

Thanks.

Pixie5740

Instead of doing everything literally why not try doing it figuratively?

You don't need to kit the whole flat out straight away. Just get the things you really need to start with. Check out some charity shops and Gumtree to find a few bargains to get you going.

It's not rocket science working out how much things will cost. Just look up the prices online. You can find the cost of paint online, the website will tell you how much coverage you'll get out of the tin and you know how large the rooms are so with some basic maths you'll know how much paint you'll need to buy.

That is correct that Scotland doesn't have any of this leaseholder and freeholder bollox. When you buy a property you actually buy it. Your responsibilities for the communal areas should be in your deeds. Some buildings have factors who organise repairs and all the admin and some, like the building I live in, don't have any factor so we sort things out ourselves.

Chloe_L

Hi Pixie,

Thanks for your response, what you said is actually common sense, which is something I lack when it comes to this type of thing!

I guess I could budget £3,000 to £5,000 to get the basics in, and do the remainder over the course of the year to spread things out a bit and hopefully become a bit more savvy in the process. Then I could retain a reasonable buffer in my linked Offset account, and once I have finished the improvements then divert all of these funds to savings also. I am keen to do this as I feel I am a bit vulnerable to interest rate rises and I am borrowing almost the most I can given my salary.

Pixie5740

If you are going to decorate it's easier to do it when the place is still empty. You could look at hiring a painter & decorator. When I bought my first place I couldn't have bought the paint, brushes, ladders, dust covers etc, for less than the painter charged me.

tlc678910

Hi,
You sound like you are well prepared to me.
I think it would be a good idea to spend on paint and medium range carpets or flooring (if new is required). Super cheap paint e.g. cheap white emulsion can be a nightmare as it can be thin and runny and see through so look at reviews when choosing paint/brand.

Try to source furniture and appliances from eBay, freecycle, charity shops (some will deliver) and putting the word out with friends and colleagues.

You can replace these items in your own time when you settle in and have time to think what you would like. You may find that you are happy with many of them.

If you source a bed you could still buy the matters new. If you decide to treat yourself to a new sofa just try not to get carried away - some people spend thousands and you don't need to do that to get an attractive and comfy sofa.

For your question how much will it cost to kit out and furnish it could be from 2k (even less if new flooring, blinds/curtains and decoration is not required) to 10k+ depending on the grade of the items you buy and whether you buy all new. e.g. for your fridge/freezer you can acquire one for next to nothing - less than £100 or spend well over £1000 but it's in your hands.

Good luck in your purchase.
Tlc

juniordoc

A 40 year mortgage term?! That's ludicrous! You will end up paying a huge amount in interest over the lifetime of the mortgage!
Surely the monthly repayments would not be a huge amount more for a 36 or 37 year term?
You could always review things after the first 2 years but it maybe worth budgeting a little more for monthly repayments to not get screwed over in the long term.

Chloe_L

Thanks everyone for your responses, that has been very helpful.

juniordoc wrote: »

A 40 year mortgage term?! That's ludicrous! You will end up paying a huge amount in interest over the lifetime of the mortgage!
Surely the monthly repayments would not be a huge amount more for a 36 or 37 year term?
You could always review things after the first 2 years but it maybe worth budgeting a little more for monthly repayments to not get screwed over in the long term.

I understand that although my objective was to minimise repayments until retirement so that I could have as much surplus as possible whilst I get on my feet. Luckily the product I have is a Lifetime Bank of England Base Rate tracker with an Offset facility and no early repayment charges, and I intend on re-building my savings to Offset which effectively will act as an over payment mechanism, and I can increase my repayments at any point during the mortgage term if required.

hazyjo

Do you have a Wilko? Can recommend their glasses and cheap white dinner service at about a fiver! They have fabulous other quality bargains too.

I'd buy or obtain the rest second hand or cheap for now. You won't know what you want until you've had the chance to live with things and see how they work in the space you have.

Agree 40 year term is crazy. You have a lot of spare cash. I'd keep £5k back for emergencies and keep saving and shorten the mortgage term with the rest.

Good luck.

Jx

LoopyLoops

I second Freecycle / Freegle, charity and word of mouth. When My hubby and I bought our first place we had nothing. We got our sofa from my Sister, although we started out with a couple of garden chairs until she was ready to get rid of her sofa to us. Our dining table came from my sister too, which had been her in-laws before that. We kept it for a good 10 years. Our cooker came from a friend. We did buy our bed, but it was cheap.

Good luck with your first place! Very exciting. Also agree with the decorating before you move in if you can.

davidmcn

Chloe_L wrote: »

And finally, I have also been told that in Scotland we do not have any freehold or leasehold properties, and everything is feudal, I am just wondering how this works in the context of a flat?

No, feudal tenure was abolished years ago, it's just ownership now. It didn't really have any relevance to owning a flat when it was in force anyway.

gill15

Hi chloe, I'm in an almost identical position to you,same age location and roughly the same property price and salary.

My white goods are included and not a lot needs to be done however I'm planning to fully redecorate before I move in. I am hoping that everything will cost me around £5000 and I think the biggest expense will be sofa. Not replacing any flooring but do need blinds and curtains and planning to get a wardrobe built in. Also will get a decorator to do all the work.

I hope to stay in budget however in a position that if i go over it's ok. its all very exciting and can't wait to be at the buying stage for my flat!!