FTB Home Improvements - Naive Questions

Saga

I suspect most FTBs end up using virtually all their savings to cover the deposit and all the various fees for moving into their first home.

Therefore, if that home needs work doing (new boiler/GCH, electrics, flashing replacing) and other nice-to-have work (kitchen, bathroom), do most FTBs get a home improvement loan as part of the mortgage, or do they 'suffer' for the first 12 months or so until they've saved up?

Just trying to understand how FTBs fund making a non-new build home habitable/put own stamp on.

diggingdude

suck it up and wait a little for anything non essential. For anything essential that should be worked into whether you can actually afford to buy the house or not

G_M

It's part of your overall budgetting.


When you decide what to buy and how much to pay, you take account of what other expenses you will have. Whether that means paying for home improvements or deciding to live without improvements till later.

Cakeguts

You don't seem to really understand what you need to do when you own a property. Lots of people make the mistake of thinking that a) owning a property is cheaper than renting and b) once you have saved the deposit for buying that is the end of saving.



Owning a property is more expensive than renting because although the mortgage may be less than the rent you become responsible for all repairs and all the insurance.



When you save for the deposit that is the practice you need to keep on saving at the same rate. What you are saving for is to replace the kitchen and bathroom and to pay the mortgage if you lose your job or become ill and unable to work. There are no benefits to pay a mortgage you have to have enough in savings to pay it if you are not working.



If you haven't saved enough extra to pay for putting in gas central heating a boiler and the electics buy a house that doesn't need all this doing to it. The point is that if you don't have the money to do up a property then you can't actually afford that particular property.



For your first property you need the deposit and the money for fees and if you want to make home improvements the cash for that but not forgetting that you need to carry on saving at the same rate as you have done for the deposit.

HampshireH

Keep saving.

House buying is likely to wipe your savings pot or at least the majority

For a lifelong saver the day my deposit left the bank I was devestated. Just had to remember that was what I saved it all for.

However was left with nothing, except the savings from that paycheck.

We waited 4 months (still saving) got a 0% CC paid for half the windows and doors on it. Paid it down then paid for a new boiler & elecs on it. Got the kitchen on 0% finance.

CC will be paid off 4 months before the 0% ends

All our purchases were planned as were payment methods and repayments targets and we have continued to save monthly alongside repayments.

Its not been easy and you have to be disciplined

Saga

Thanks. I have taken a proportion of the deposit to put aside for essential works.

csgohan4

we did everything we need to bit by bit over 4 years, Couldn't afford to do everything in one go.


We lived with it in the short term as mean we could buy a bigger house and renovate to our taste

K80_Black

Another thing to consider is the cost of furnishings - I've rented fully furnished flats before where I didn't even need to buy my own toilet brush. Moving from somewhere like that to an empty house means an awful lot of things you need on the first day. If you don't own very basic things like kitchenware and bedding, start looking for good quality bargains now and store them until you move. This way you can buy the things you actually want when they're on sale vs having to pay whatever the price is on the day you move or compromising and buying things you don't really want and end up replacing.

AFF8879

Welcome to home ownership! There is always something to save for. And by the time you think you’ve paid for everything, either something breaks, or the living room wallpaper has gone out of fashion and it’s time to redecorate again

G_M

K80_Black wrote: »

Another thing to consider is the cost of furnishings - I've rented fully furnished flats before where I didn't even need to buy my own toilet brush. Moving from somewhere like that to an empty house means an awful lot of things you need on the first day. If you don't own very basic things like kitchenware and bedding, start looking for good quality bargains now and store them until you move. This way you can buy the things you actually want when they're on sale vs having to pay whatever the price is on the day you move or compromising and buying things you don't really want and end up replacing.

Auctions!


https://peacockauction.co.uk/auction/bedford-weekly-21