Hidden Costs Of First-Time Buying

IamtheWalrus

I am thinking of buying a flat. I am working on a budget and, aside from the mortgage, want to include all the hidden costs. i've come up with:

Service charge (common areas/concierge etc)
Repairs of white goods etc.
Bills
Furniture (beds, table, dishwasher, etc)

Are white good/beds usually included?

I've heard that I need to consider the costs of the repairs to the flat's communal outer building. Is that true? Surely it's impossible to budget for this?

Am I missing anything else?

athtrasna

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

I am thinking of buying a flat. I am working on a budget and, aside from the mortgage, want to include all the hidden costs. i've come up with:

Service charge (common areas/concierge etc)
Repairs of white goods etc.
Bills
Furniture (beds, table, dishwasher, etc)

Are white good/beds usually included?

I've heard that I need to consider the costs of the repairs to the flat's communal outer building. Is that true? Surely it's impossible to budget for this?

Am I missing anything else?

Legal fees, survey, stamp duty if applicable, life assurance.

Most property is sold unfurnished without white goods and most definitely without beds.

slowjoe17

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

I am thinking of buying a flat. I am working on a budget and, aside from the mortgage, want to include all the hidden costs. i've come up with:

Service charge (common areas/concierge etc)
Repairs of white goods etc.
Bills
Furniture (beds, table, dishwasher, etc)

Are white good/beds usually included?

I've heard that I need to consider the costs of the repairs to the flat's communal outer building. Is that true? Surely it's impossible to budget for this?

Am I missing anything else?

Property insurance.

Life insurance.

Property tax.

NIMAN

Water tax

Your phone/broadband/Sky bills?

riclad

IS There a phone line in the apartment,
eg easy to get broadband installed .
is there free car park space,
is there security gates ,
or can anyone walk in to the car park .
IS there intercom, pin no lock on the main door entrance.
what are the services charges ,1- 2k or more ?
is sky tv or upc cable tv avaidable .
buying an apartment,
its usually empty,
just curtains ,it should be in the contract, carpets and curtains maybe left in the apartment ,or may not.
no furniture or beds ,
seller may opt to leave 1 fridge there ,it varys .

if theres kitchen units ,presse,s they should be left there .

Bacchus

Bills like phone, TV, electric, gas & water are not hidden costs IMO. You pay them as a renter too. Nothing changes there.

We're close to signing on our house, so we're in the middle of costing things ourselves...

First, the immediate things to do with actually buying the house...
Solicitor fee + stamp duty
Engineer fee for survey report
Valuation fee for bank
Holding deposit (which later contributes to your actual deposit)

Several things you need to buy...
Bed, mattress & lockers (x2 if you want a guest room set up)
Couch set
TV stand
Dining table + 4/6 chairs
Fridge
Washing Machine
Kettle + Toaster (kitchen essentials )
Oven/Hob
Vacuum cleaner

Several things that might be optional to some people...
Tumble Dryer
Freezer
Microwave
Iron + Ironing board
TV (if you were renting in house with a TV included)
Various lighting
Various kitchenware
Wardrobes & chest of drawers

Other "personal touch" costs...
Painting (DIY or get in a pro?)
New light shades
New curtains/blinds
Mirrors
Carpet/Tile/Wooden flooring

New running costs...
Property tax
House insurance
Life insurance
Misc repairs as they arise

Black_Knight

For the really tight sellers, don't forget light bulbs! And assuming you go the LED route, they can add up (im looking at you GU10 bulb).

Mrs OBumble

Bacchus wrote: »

Several things you need to buy...
Bed, mattress & lockers (x2 if you want a guest room set up)
Couch set
TV stand
Dining table + 4/6 chairs
Fridge
Washing Machine
Kettle + Toaster (kitchen essentials )
Oven/Hob
Vacuum cleaner

Several things that might be optional to some people...


Other "personal touch" costs...
...
Carpet/Tile/Wooden flooring

These lists are very personal, though.

I'd regard flooring as essential (unless there was already some laid). Similarly a cooker, fridge, one bed-space for each person, one chair per person, a table (of some sort), and minimum amounts of cutlery/crockery (plate, cup, knife, spoon, fork - one per person) and cookware (one saucepan, one frypan, one bowl).

Especially if you need to be well-dressed for work, then a wardrobe (or similar to hang clothes), washing machine, clothes maiden and ironing board would be pretty high on the list too.

But couches, TV-stands ... strictly option and can be left 'til a long time after you've moved in. And things don't need to be new - unless you can afford it.



OP Several people have mentioned life-insurance. The minimum is mortgage protection insurance. In some (but not all) circumstances this will be in the form of life insurance, but there are different approaches.

riclad

IT varys,
most property sold with no beds ,or white goods,
you have to check,
will they leave the curtains ,or carpets ,
Built in presse,s , kitchen press,s should be left there .
ie presses secured to the wall with screws .

my friend sold house,only thing left is dryer,
and large fridge,
fridge fits into the space in the kitchen unit .
kitchen fitted presse,s left there ,
otherwise house is totally empty .

some people even take lampshades and lightbulbs .

Dellnum

White goods are normally left as are curtains, but best to check before contracts are signed.

riclad

They may leave a washing machine,or a fridge ,
i would not assume so.

A good percentage of places will have a cooker, fridge and possibly dishwasher included as fitted kitchens are very popular now so these items tend to be very built into the kitchen and a size to suit the particular kitchen so they are left behind when leaving.

This would particularly be the case in apartments.

4ensic15

Don't forget garden tools and DIY tools. Lawnmower, shears, strimmer, wheelbarrow, hose, screwdrivers, spanners, drills, ladders etc. etc

SarahMollie

I bought last year and I can easily say 2015 was the most expensive year of my life! And thats still true even if you don't count the mortgage itself.

Upfront I had a tonne of expenses.

Solicitor
Stamp Duty
Survey
Valuation

I got the 2% cash back from BOI on my mortgage but that doesnt come through for up to 9weeks after you draw down. I got mine about a month after, but you can't depend on having it handy to actually clear your stamp duty etc.

I then decided to do a fair bit of work as I found out after the fact that the property had paper thin walls - €8k of soundproofing was quite the unexpected cost!

Now i realise that you don't have to buy all the following, but the place I bought had previously been rented since it was built (15 years ago) so i felt like I wanted to create a clean slate.

New Kitchen and all new integrated appliances - about another 8k all in.
Painting throughout and all new carpets and new laminate in kitchen and hallway - about 3.5k
2xsofas and a matching footstool - €1,400
Tv unit - €65 (i went cheap here!)
Side tables - €95
Corner shelving €250
New bed and mattress €900
New fitted wardrobes €1,100
Bedside lockers x 2 €160


I had some previous kitchen things like pots and pans, and my bf bought us a new kettle, toaster and vaccum cleaner (as its my house but he's living with me) as a token contribution.

Ive still to buy a dining room table and chairs (previous owner left one which we've been using) so I'm going to do that next month and I'm also taking a double bed from my parents house which my mam wants to get rid of for the spare room. Then I should mostly be done!

However, I'd probably be further ahead if not for all the hidden costs of other things I've had to pay for.
Water heater broke down - €300 to repair
Windows were drafty and letting in water - €150 to repair
Water pressure really low - €700 to install pump

So you definitely need to budget a bit for contingencies. As you can see, I had more than €1000 to spend on things I felt really couldn't wait (being able to take a shower is important in my book!) I know I spent a lot on non essentials but I'd good savings and I wanted to make my mark on a property that had been a bit unloved.

I have a few more less urgent projects that I'm considering doing over the coming year or two as my finances recover.

1. install security alarm
2. replace the storage heaters with something more modern
3. maybe redo main bathroom (this is the big ticket item!)
4. installing a stira or similar to give access to the attic

Santy2015

All in all your talking 25k to get what you wanted done?

intheclouds

4ensic15 wrote: »

Don't forget garden tools and DIY tools. Lawnmower, shears, strimmer, wheelbarrow, hose, screwdrivers, spanners, drills, ladders etc. etc

Most flats will have the management company looking after any common gardens.

SarahMollie

Santy2015 wrote: »

All in all your talking 25k to get what you wanted done?

Yeah pretty much, but my attitude is I'm making my home there for the next few years at least so I'd rather spend the money and have it as I want it.

Most of the work will add some value I think, and if/when I do go to sell it, a nice owner occupied home will sell better than a tatty ex rented place. I know it sold for a bit less than others in the same development that were in better nick.

SarahMollie

Actually adding up all that I've spent was giving me heart palputations that I'd wasted a tonne of money, but I just went on the price property register and another identical unit in my development sold for €17k more than mine earlier in 2015, and to be honest, the interior isnt fabulous.

I'm (again) happy with the money I spent as as least my place now looks, bright, clean and modern and and is lovely and quiet with no neighbour noise!

IamtheWalrus

One of the hidden costs I haven't yet factored in is an base interest rate rise. If I can afford my mortgage repayments now, I'll have to factor in a rate rise in the next year, and subsequent years. Even if I get a 2 year fixed, because of a likely base rate increase when I remortgage, the repayments will be much higher.

IamtheWalrus

Can anyone give me a idea how I'd calculate the yearly cost of building insurance and mortgage repayment protection insurance?

NIMAN

About 2 years after I had bought my 1st house, I decided to walk around it one day, every room, and add up all the things I had bought for it.

Paint, TV, Sky box, DVD player, HiFi, sofas, carpets, cutlery, white goods, dinner sets, small kitchen appliances, towels, duvets, prints for wall, rugs etc etc. You get the idea. I think it came to £8000 or so.

And that was only physical things. Add insurance, oil, electricity bills etc to that figure.

Inspector Coptoor

These aren't really hidden costs but the cost of our buying our house so far is:

Stamp duty - €4300
Legal fees - €1168.50 made up of €950 plus VAT
Search fees - €70
Commissioners fees - €20
Land registry - €975
Courier - €24.20
Structural Survey - €495
Valuer - €155
Total of €7247.70

Add to that
House insurance - €340
Mortgage protection - €362
Property tax - not sure yet
Water charges - €164
Etc
Etc
It's a costly process

SarahMollie

NIMAN wrote: »

About 2 years after I had bought my 1st house, I decided to walk around it one day, every room, and add up all the things I had bought for it.

Paint, TV, Sky box, DVD player, HiFi, sofas, carpets, cutlery, white goods, dinner sets, small kitchen appliances, towels, duvets, prints for wall, rugs etc etc. You get the idea. I think it came to £8000 or so.

And that was only physical things. Add insurance, oil, electricity bills etc to that figure.

Ha oh goodness I wasnt even counting this stuff, just the big ticket items! I suppose i was lucky in that I'd been renting for years so bedding, towels etc I had already.

I forgot to mention that because i have a large set of french doors in my living room leading to my terrace, that I've also ordered a custom made set of curtains (Harry Corry etc don't do the width) but I've only paid 50% for these so far as I pay the rest on delivery. €575 in Arnotts, and thats at a 50% discount in their Jan sale!

*soon to be bankrupt!*

IamtheWalrus

I have found a place I like. I offered 50k below asking. It was rejected. The agent says he thinks 25k below asking will suffice. I'm tempted to re-offer 35k below asking. I know my offfer was the only one made in 2 weeks of viewing. I know there are more viewings for this Saturday.

My question is, is it best to make an offer now or wait until after Saturday.

Do it now and the owner might accept and take off market or wait until after Saturday. If I wait until Saturday, and my offer is still the only one on the table, a higher offer could sway the owner if he thinks it'll be his best.

4ensic15

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

I have found a place I like. I offered 50k below asking. It was rejected. The agent says he thinks 25k below asking will suffice. I'm tempted to re-offer 35k below asking. I know my offfer was the only one made in 2 weeks of viewing. I know there are more viewings for this Saturday.

My question is, is it best to make an offer now or wait until after Saturday.

Do it now and the owner might accept and take off market or wait until after Saturday. If I wait until Saturday, and my offer is still the only one on the table, a higher offer could sway the owner if he thinks it'll be his best.

The owner will wait until after the viewings on Saturday no matter what you offer.

youngblood

Looking back, if people ask you what you would like as a house warming gift, I wish I'd said lots of good light bulbs!

4ensic15

youngblood wrote: »

Looking back, if people ask you what you would like as a house warming gift, I wish I'd said lots of good light bulbs!

There is not much warmth from the new light bulbs.