How much money should you leave over furnishing and emergency funds - london 1 bed flat

tbo127

How much money should you leave after paying deposit and purchase/legal fees for a 1 bed flat purchase in london?  Is £19000 sufficient?  For essential furniture. If white goods are already built in other than a washing machine. 

user1977

You know better than us what you regard as "essential" furniture, what sort of standard you'd like, and how quickly you can replenish any such fund. Probably easiest if you go (virtual) shopping and add it up.

tbo127

I’m quickly finding out how insanely expensive purchasing in london is. Even with a 27% deposit, monthly repayments and bills take up nearly 60% of income and you’re left with pretty much no cash after buying and furnishing. 

hazyjo

Blimey, would have thought that was loads! Don't spend too much on fitted stuff for a 1 bed flat, you don't want to put too much money into it. Buy stuff you could take with you if / when you move on.

sourpuss2021

Knock off a nought and you’ll find £1900 will go a long way in IKEA.

CSI_Yorkshire

If you're finding it expensive, don't go and spend £19k on furniture.  You don't need anything designer in a flat that is already taking much of your income.

Martico

Tbf, the thread title includes emergency funds too, those are always wise to keep in hand. How much, well, depends - three to six months worth of spends is often cited as a good amount to aim for

lika_86

For me, essential furniture would be bed, wardrobe (or clothing rails), sofa, dining table, everything else can be built up over time or fashioned from other things. We used our unpacked boxes of books stacked up as bedside tables for months until we got some, same with a coffee table. 

However, a lot depends on what you have already (mirrors etc) and what there is in the property (like window dressings) as to what else might be essential.

Emmia

And white goods can be of variable quality, I'd make an assumption you'll need to replace at least one item of that sort in the first year (the fridge, the washing machinei and the oven are essential - the dishwasher and tumble dryer less so) if you don't need to... happy days.

Otherwise, absolutely agree that you "need" relatively little - a bed, table to eat at with chairs (we used a garden furniture set we had for 8 weeks after moving in to our first flat) some chairs to sit in for watching TV, a wardrobe or clothing rails...

You can get a fair amount in IKEA, or freecycle / gumtree /a local charity shop - the British Heart Foundation has second hand furniture shops.

Murphybear

I bought an ex council flat in London 42 years ago.  I had some bits of furniture and bought a bed, sofa, small fridge, freezer and cooker.  From what I remember they would have been fairly inexpensive.  I splashed out and bought G Plan living room units in black ash    very trendy at the time.  I got them on an interest free loan but had some qualms at the time thinking “do I really need this”

Roll on 42 years and umpteen house moves my dear old black ash furniture is still with me.  It’s solidly built and apart from the veneer looking a bit scruffy there are many years left in it.  I’m a great believer, most of the time, that you get what you pay for.  This was worth every penny.  

Just out of interest, back then the council (LB of Wandsworth) were selling off flats to anyone who wanted to buy one.  They had a viewing time of one hour and if you were interested you out your name on a list.  It was a nice flat, only 5 storeys and it overlooked the common.  It sounds crazy now with the housing shortage but things weren’t so desperate back then and, being on my own I couldn’t afford a shoe box sized flat.  

Spendless

What are you counting as essential? Do you need to buy carpets/flooring and curtains?  That's what is likely to take a chunk of your money. For the rest you need somewhere to sleep (bed), somewhere to store clothes (wardrobe and possibly chest of drawers) somewhere to sit (sofa/chairs) ideally somewhere to eat (table chairs) unless space doesn't allow or you're an eat every meal on your lap person. What else do you need, vacuum cleaner, iron and ironing board (if you iron!)  I'm guessing you already have the  household essentials bedding, crockery, cutlery,cook and bake wear?