When to start buying furniture on 0% credit card? New-Build will be ready July 2020

mn92

Hi all,
I was wondering when should we start buying furniture (sofa, beds, kitchen table etc) for our new build? Mortgage has been approved (initial credit checked passed) and we are just about to exchange but the completion will be done early July 2020 as the house is currently under construction. The idea is that we will use either 0% credit cards (we need to apply for one each for me and my wife) or the 0% finance deals of each furniture company (e.g DFS, IKEA etc). I am just a bit concerned about doing anything before completion as i don't want to ruin everything in case the bank does another credit check in June/July and they see £6k-£7k worth of credit card/loan debt. Should I wait until I have completed, got the keys and then go on a shopping spree? I have £0 debt at the moment and good credit history. I have always been given high credit limits so my plan on using 0% credit cards should work. I am just worried how the bank will take it if I do anything before completion because they will see a credit application plus increase in debt. The reason I am asking is because beds and sofas have 8-10 weeks waiting to be delivered.....which means I need to start looking from May if I want to have them delivered for July....thoughts? thank you 

MovingForwards

Order them when you have the keys in your hand. Don't risk having your mortgage pulled after exchanging contracts.

You can get cheap / free basic things to tide you over when you move in, while waiting for your new stuff.

davidmcn

mn92 said:

The reason I am asking is because beds and sofas have 8-10 weeks waiting to be delivered 

Or you could just get them from places (such as IKEA) which have them in stock rather than take months to build them.
Plus I'd never place much trust in developers' estimates of completion dates, especially in present circumstances. 

PasturesNew

Don't do it.  You're moving in in the summer months.  Get yourself some simple/nice garden furniture and a blow up sofa and use that.  For a table, pop to Ikea for a look around and get yourself a £16 table (legs unscrew, so handy to keep forever for whenever you need a table in the future too). https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/linnmon-adils-table-white-s29932181/ 

For beds, there's nothing wrong with inflatables... there's even one advertised that's electric/blow up and quite cheap, looks like/feels like a proper bed. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/recommended/home/best-inflatable-mattress-guests-staying-night/

Then - sit in the space, consider the space.... make your choices based on how you feel when you actually live in it.  Consider how a big sofa will get in, measure if it'll fit where you think you want it, discuss where you want it.

It's summer.... take your time and choose your items wisely.  No credit required.  

onwards&upwards

Honestly, don’t spend a penny until you have the keys. 

You can manage with hardly anything at first, in my first flat we had two deckchairs and an air bed!  

Its not not just the money, you don’t fully know how you will want to best use the space until you’ve lived in it for a bit either, if you buy loads before you move in, in a year you’ll be wishing you’d done it differently. 

DCFC79

I echo the advice already posted, do it when you have the keys, the  move in date could be delayed.

mn92

Great - thanks everyone for your replies. I will wait until I have the keys on hand!...we already have an inflated bed...so sleeping is sorted...I will probably look for cheap table and chairs over at IKEA to start with and then will start buying what we need. Thanks again for your advice

Thrugelmir

When it comes to furniture. You can find real bargains secondhand if you shop around. There's no need to pay highly inflated prices. 0% deals simply build a huge amount of interest into the total cost. The actual cost of making a sofa is only around 30% of what you actually pay. 

obc18

I'd definitely wait until you have the keys. Nothing to do with credit files etc but I know how shaky developers are with the dates they give... and given the whole COV19 thing I wouldnt be surprised if they started pulling builders off site soon.

Thrugelmir

Self isolation is going to create all sorts of issues with builds. As tradespeople go awol. 

mn92

obc18 said:

I'd definitely wait until you have the keys. Nothing to do with credit files etc but I know how shaky developers are with the dates they give... and given the whole COV19 thing I wouldnt be surprised if they started pulling builders off site soon.

Yeah - indeed coronavirus is something that can mess the plans for everyone...it is a ''wait and see'' game at the moment as lots of things are on hold. For example our Mortgage application has been approved straight away but the Help to Buy equity loan may take up to 20 working days to be assessed!