Need reassurance we are doing the right thing

random10

Just went sale agreed, doing the maths, things will be tight, can I assume when people have the deposit saved there isn't a whole lot left to furnish. Oh says we should always have a cushion of 10k but that ain't gonna happen. Were things tight for a few years for he when ye moved in

TheDriver

Quite the opposite. U don't need a lot of things initially until ye save when things settle.

D3PO

when u say things are tight i hope you dont mean in your monthly expenses becasue if they do pull the plug now. interest rates will rise heavily in the medium term if your taking tight month to month you will end up as an arrears statistic at some point in the future.

random10

No mortgage repayments are grand, we have the deposit saved and other money but we have to pay solicitors fees, a new kitchen, flooring, furnishings etc.

Wabbit Ears

I bought cheap at the time as I had absolutely no additional cash for furnishings. Got a second hand couch (actually a futon) Super cheap laminate, even had the kitchen floor painted with floor paint!!!

I saved and replaced everything with good quality furnishings.

I think, in hindsight, that even if I had money to spend at the time I would have changed most things as my tastes varied a lot as I settled down so it would have been money wasted.

MouseTail

No way as a FTB way back in the day did I have a cushion of €10k, or anyone I knew either. I would say don't overborrow. Live with the suite from the inlaws etc, till you rebuilt the savings stash to buy outright. I can see where your partner is coming from, having got into a culture of saving, it can be discomfiting not to have a safety net there, but it is entirely normal to wipe your savings out as a FTB.

Moonbeam

I had 6k for everything in my 1st house.
Floors,tiles,cooker,washing machine,beds,couches etc
It was before Ikea though.

roadsmart

This is what adverts.ie was invented for. Don't worry about it, myself and mrs roadsmart had a mattress and a camping stove to our name when we were doing up the new purchase. :pac:

Muahahaha

roadsmart wrote: »

This is what adverts.ie was invented for. Don't worry about it, myself and mrs roadsmart had a mattress and a camping stove to our name when we were doing up the new purchase. :pac:

Couldn't agree more with this, If you're willing to put the legwork in Adverts and to a lesser extent Donedeal, are treasure troves of quality second hand goods. Over the last three months I've accumulated a new fridge, a corner sofa, swivel chair, curtains, a few pictures and a table and a couple of chairs all for less than €700. I hit the jackpot with the corner sofa which was only four years old and turned out to be handmade by Helen Turkington (seriously high end furniture), I looked it up and it originally cost €2.500 I bought it off a woman with more money than sense for a bargain €250, I felt like I was robbing her ! Then again they lived in a mansion in South Dublin with a back garden the size of a football pitch and a Bentley parked out front so I didn't feel that guilty in the end !

ABajaninCork

Blimey! Your house sounds well furnished compared to my flat when I first moved in. I had dishes, cutlery, ironing board, pots & pans as I'd bought these before I moved. Bedroom curtains I bought for a tenner on sale at John Lewis. They were filthy dirty so had to take them to the launderette before putting them up. (No washing machine either!)

Didn't have a bed. Borrowed a Z-bed which I slept on for six months before I could buy a bed of my own. And had no 3 piece suite for another year. Sat on the floor! :pac:

Don't worry about it OP. It'll come together - slowly.

ted1

random10 wrote: »

Just went sale agreed, doing the maths, things will be tight, can I assume when people have the deposit saved there isn't a whole lot left to furnish. Oh says we should always have a cushion of 10k but that ain't gonna happen. Were things tight for a few years for he when ye moved in

Adverts and done deal are great for furnishing houses. Remember its a 20 to 30 years mortgage no need to splash out in day one.

Santa Cruz

I agree with the posters above. Gumtree has a great free section also but you have to be quick. You can be lucky too. I went to get a second hand fridge with my sister which was in beautiful condition. The owner showed me a very good kitchen table and chairs and said he wanted to get rid of it but didn't think anyone answering the ads would have a van big enough to take it. So bingo for us.
Anyone who can get the money together to buy a house can pick up these goods which will help lessen cash demands in the early days.

chris85

I will be same, have saved last few years and we are ready to buy but when we do will only have a couple of grand to start with probably. But I am happy with this, mortgage repayments will be fine and will start saving for new furniture and other things needed.

username123

When I bought my place the landlady of my previous place gave me the bed, a couch, a tv plus stand, and ironing board/hoover etc..

I put up the cheapest curtains possible from Dunnes, bought a new fridge/cooker/hob/dishwasher and that was me for the next few years. The couch broke and a friend donated another couch.

I replaced the free stuff at my leisure over the next few years.

My biggest regret is that I put in cheapish laminate flooring - now it would be such a hassle to replace it that I keep putting it off!!

The_Conductor

Moonbeam wrote: »

I had 6k for everything in my 1st house.
Floors,tiles,cooker,washing machine,beds,couches etc
It was before Ikea though.

Ikea is damn expensive!
The quality may be better than many alternates- but by god, its not cheap.....

Muahahaha

The_Conductor wrote: »

Ikea is damn expensive!
The quality may be better than many alternates- but by god, its not cheap.....

I think it depends. Like they go from the lower end of the furniture market right up to the mid level but in fairness to them most of their products don't feel low end and are of good design and very functional. Ikea might cost a little bit more than the likes of Argos or Woodies but their stuff tends to feel and look very cheap and tatty and anytime I've bought stuff from Argos it doesn't stand any test of time.

The bargain section in Ikea can be quite good too, they usually have sofas, wardrobes, shelves, etc in nearly new condition for near to half price. Last month I picked up three wardrobes for a total of €180 including led lights inside them, drawers, glass shelves, fittings, etc. I haven't started the project yet but when I do I'm going to make a kind of classic French walk in wardrobe with them in the bedroom with a small sofa to sit down on and a tv in the bottom section of one of the wardrobes.

Also Ikea furniture is highly customisable, if you get bored of it there is a ton of inspiration on what to do with it here www.ikeahackers.net

leelee77

All we had was 2 deckchairs, a picnic table, an inflatable bed and a 2 bar heater. It was in the depths of winter and we lived in the sitting room! We saved up for each and every piece of furniture and really appreciated each purchase!

ShatterProof

Moved in and polybonded the floor. That did us for a few years.