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Costs involved with setting up your first home after you purchase the home

  • 24-05-2020 9:29pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,103 ✭✭✭


    Hi all. I’m on the process of looking for a new home. Went to view a 3 bed duplex recently and although it’s at the higher end of my budget I quite like it. I am worried about the costs when I actually move in.
    I don’t have anything at the
    Moment in terms of furniture, bedding, appliances, crockery, appliances - nothing. Can someone give me a guide price? I know I’ll also have to set up broadband, electricity, I’ll have management fees etc. I’m finding it slightly overwhelming to be honest


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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 26,555 ✭✭✭✭Creamy Goodness


    Between 10k-40k. Depending on appliances/bed/soft furnishings chosen.

    Doesn’t all have to be done at once, bare minimum and then add as you go.

    Get oven/hob/fridge/freezer/dish washer - that’s the kitchen done.

    Get sofa/tv - that’s the living room done.

    Get bed for master and bed linen and that the master done.

    Everything else can really wait.

    *edit* don’t forget you’ll need mortgage protection and him insurance as regular bills.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,103 ✭✭✭Maz2016


    Thanks for that. It is good advice to get the basics first and add as and when you can


  • Registered Users Posts: 359 ✭✭Experience_day


    Maz2016 wrote: »
    Thanks for that. It is good advice to get the basics first and add as and when you can

    Would say don't be afraid to buy second hand. Save substantial money. :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,731 ✭✭✭accensi0n


    Get some light bulbs as well, I always find that's a bright idea.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,358 ✭✭✭Charles Babbage


    Maz2016 wrote: »
    Thanks for that. It is good advice to get the basics first and add as and when you can


    Traditionally one scrounges a chair or table from the family, if they are nearby, and then appropriate replacements can be sourced in time. People are always throwing stuff out.



    If you are buying a second hand house there may be some items in it.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,627 ✭✭✭Wildly Boaring


    Fridge freezer washing machine 1000

    Bed and mattress 500

    Couch 500

    Blinds 500

    Flooring 3000

    Table and chairs - ours were free - say 500

    Edit 500 for oven


    After that as much or as little as you want.
    You may not need flooring???


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,314 ✭✭✭davo2001


    Fridge freezer washing machine 1000

    Bed and mattress 500

    Couch 500

    Blinds 500

    Flooring 3000

    Table and chairs - ours were free - say 500


    After that as much or as little as you want.
    You may not need flooring???

    Spend more than €500 on your bed and mattress, a good bed and especially a good mattress are worth there weight in gold long term.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,127 ✭✭✭James Bond Junior


    Don't underestimate the goodwill of relatives trying to get rid of ****e they don't want. I got a couch and was offered a dew beds when I bought my place. I bought a "thing" a paycheck when I was saving for a my house. A kettle here, a toaster there and so on. You don't feel it and it made a big difference.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,629 ✭✭✭jrosen


    Whatever you think it may be, assume it will be higher. The costs can spiral.
    However you can be sensible. There are some items worth spending on. For some people its floors for others its blinds.

    Flooring -
    Blinds
    Oven, Hob, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, kettle toaster, fridge freezer
    Couch, bed & mattress
    You will need all these asap.

    After that you can buy as you go.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,103 ✭✭✭Maz2016


    Don't underestimate the goodwill of relatives trying to get rid of ****e they don't want. I got a couch and was offered a dew beds when I bought my place. I bought a "thing" a paycheck when I was saving for a my house. A kettle here, a toaster there and so on. You don't feel it and it made a big difference.

    Thanks for the advice. Are you saying buy before I move? I thought about that but wasn’t sure


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,627 ✭✭✭Wildly Boaring


    davo2001 wrote: »
    Spend more than €500 on your bed and mattress, a good bed and especially a good mattress are worth there weight in gold long term.

    But in reality you'll pick up a bed for nothing and 500 will get you a decent mattress.

    These type of threads often come up
    OP got an answer of 10k to 40k above!!
    I'm showing the op they can calm down initially.

    In the real world we all put up with poor furniture for the first couple of years.

    We've still got a £100 TV we bought in 2012 off mates of ours.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,529 ✭✭✭con747


    Maz2016 wrote: »
    Thanks for that. It is good advice to get the basics first and add as and when you can

    Have a look at some online second hand stores that deliver furniture, a second hand bed frame but a new mattress saves a lot and can be put in a guest bedroom later. DoneDeal, Adverts.ie and shops like this https://bargainshop.ie/ help if you can't afford new. You can also get good "student" type deals on basic kitchen stuff online. https://guineys.ie/ or similar can be useful starting out. Then you have Amazon and Ebay if you can't get good deals locally. Amazon is my preferred choice due to excellent customer service.

    Don't expect anything from life, just be grateful to be alive.



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,627 ✭✭✭Wildly Boaring


    Don't underestimate the goodwill of relatives trying to get rid of ****e they don't want. I got a couch and was offered a dew beds when I bought my place. I bought a "thing" a paycheck when I was saving for a my house. A kettle here, a toaster there and so on. You don't feel it and it made a big difference.

    Agreed.
    As above our table and chairs were free.

    Our 2nd bed and mattress were given to us by my parents. Matress was basically new.
    We had a futon in the third room that I got off a lad at work.
    Our eldest had a terrible wardrobe we got off a neighbour.

    You gladly accept these things and pass on again when you can afford to upgrade.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭Still waters


    We find the local Facebook pages handy, I've only ever bought one suite of furniture for the living room, any suite ever since has been off Clare free to a good home, usually younger professionals getting rid of perfectly good stuff, the last set we got just after xmas and it's leather, a couple of small scuffs here and there but otherwise plenty good, if you're not fussy you'll get stuff that will do the same job as the new gear


  • Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    You'll get loads of stuff for free or cheap on donedeal and adverts.

    Some of it's sh/te, but some of it is good, too. When my brother bought his first house, he was of the opinion that it's his new house and it was only getting the best of everything. He bought all his electronics from a local shop, and furniture from a different local shop. Everything was financed. He spent a fortune. To his credit though, he never regretted it, and in fairness, it's about 15 years later and most of the stuff is still going strong (washing machine, bed, TV etc. all still grand, for example).

    Though he did change the suite of furniture, and TV and a few other bits recently by choice.

    Personally, I always hated the idea of adding debt to debt, but it's always an option if your mortgage will be inexpensive to you.

    Personally, I reckon you'd need about 10k to get a nice finish inside a house. A grand will get you a decent bed/mattress. About a grand gets you a good sofa. I bought in Power City before and I got a fridge freezer, hob, oven, microwave and extractor fan (all integrated) for 1100 if i recall correctly. Kitchen will presumably be there already in the house for you. You'd get a decent TV for 500 euro.

    You can spend a lot, of course, but if you're keeping your budget at the forefront of your mind, you can get away with a small budget if you keep an eye on what you're buying. Your budget will obviously need to go up if you're putting in new kitchen, floors, skirting, doors etc. but those wouldn't be a priority unless the ones already there are really in tatters.


  • Registered Users Posts: 26,555 ✭✭✭✭Creamy Goodness


    OP got an answer of 10k to 40k above!!
    I'm showing the op they can calm down initially.

    In the real world we all put up with poor furniture for the first couple of years.

    I live in the real world :rolleyes: and had a spreadsheet for when I bought my house less than two years which I did reference when giving the estimate.

    I ended up somewhere nearer to €20k for flooring a 4 bed, kitchen appliances, blinds, alarm, bed and mattress, sofa and two arm chairs, cutlery, dinnerware, etc.

    We did go for expensive flooring but my thought is that if I skimp here I’ll be pulling it up in 10 years and it’ll be a nightmare.

    I made do with a hand me down kitchen table, tv and other bits and bobs. Since then I’ve kitted out the living room with a 5.1.2 speaker setup and an OLED tv. Which would add roughly €5k to the initial value. I’ve also given back the kitchen table and bought my own + 6 chairs. I’ve also placed two new beds in the spare rooms, turned the box room into an office and bought lockers/lamps/pictures/throws etc. Bought a lawnmower/garden tools/garden storage since. It all adds up and because the OP didn’t say they wanted to either do it all in one or build as they go or what kind of tastes they have I was more lenient with the estimate.

    I told the OP to get the bare minimum I don’t know how unreal world that could be?


  • Registered Users Posts: 301 ✭✭ChewBerecca


    I wouldn't recommend skimping on the core pieces. Invest what you can on your mattress and sofa. You'll be spending most of your time on one or the other.

    The below was what we spent in the last 7 months or so. But we had some savings and had been buying bits in stages (beds and mattresses can take 8 weeks to be delivered, that's potentially two paydays to recover). We've yet to paint the place because of lockdown but thankfully the house is fairly neutral.

    Our bedframe was about 400, mattress we went orthopedic (bad back) and spent well over 1k. Never been more comfortable on a bed in my life.

    2 sofas were close to 3k. You can get cheaper but I've back problems so was very selective, most sofas aggravate it.

    Dining set around 1k during a Harvey Norman staff event, my parents bought it as a gift.

    Coffee table was 300 but we were picky.

    Appliances will vary depending on your buy, we had to buy washing machine, fridge, dryer and then we had to replace the dishwasher in the last few months.

    Blinds/curtains, if you need them just get cheap alternatives until you can get a sense of your colour schemes or how bright or drafty the rooms are. No point slashing out until you know what colour your walls will be or if you need blackout for light or thicker material for warmth.

    The best advice I was given was to take our time. I wanted to go all guns blazing and redo everything immediately. Now we've been here a few months, have the key pieces, we have a better sense of the lighting and heat in each area of the house during winter and summer and what we need to focus our attention on.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,037 ✭✭✭afatbollix


    Heres what we did,

    We made a list room by room of what we would need.

    Kitchen,
    Glasses
    cups plates
    pots
    pans

    Bedroom
    bed
    Duvet

    etc etc

    Then we went and found what we liked online and broke it up to what we needed ASAP and stuff we could wait on.

    Friends and family did help, We got a bed from friends, table and other bits. People are always looking to get rid of stuff which will tide you over until you can afford to get what you want.

    If theres one thing I could give myself advice on is save up for the important stuff. Bed and couch, If you are not on one you are on the other.

    That way you will only buy it once and that is a saving in the long run.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,127 ✭✭✭James Bond Junior


    I bought a couch on finance from DFS. Handy and I paid it off early when I had a bit of breathing space but ****e quality so be careful.

    Don't forget about renting a room too. I did it for the first year but got such a decent tenant who ended up staying 3 years. She would still be there only I moved abroad and rented the house out.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,103 ✭✭✭Maz2016


    I bought a couch on finance from DFS. Handy and I paid it off early when I had a bit of breathing space but ****e quality so be careful.

    Don't forget about renting a room too. I did it for the first year but got such a decent tenant who ended up staying 3 years. She would still be there only I moved abroad and rented the house out.
    That’s exactly what I’m planning to do. The location is next to a hospital and 15 minutes drive to a university Was thinking if I got a good tenant , paid the mortgage off as quick as possible. I could use the tenants money towards renovations etc


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,103 ✭✭✭Maz2016


    Thanks for the advice guys, genuinely delighted with the replies. Has definitely given food for thought


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭un5byh7sqpd2x0


    Top tip: buy the show house if you can!


  • Registered Users Posts: 26,555 ✭✭✭✭Creamy Goodness


    Top tip: buy the show house if you can!

    Not sure I'd agree with that, yes you get the house kitted out but you usually pay more for the pleasure, the flooring is usually poor (especially when it comes to laminate flooring they use < 10mm which is usually creaky and more importantly it's not to your own personal taste. Showhouses look great but try and actually live in one and you'll soon find you wish you didn't have to dump so many impractical things.

    Guess it really depends what kind of painter are you, do you prefer a blank canvas or do you want paint-by-numbers canvas? Nothing wrong with either approach but if some posters think I'm out of this world for suggesting €40k well the showhouse in my estate went for €50k over the houses of the same type as they sold it with the contents.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭un5byh7sqpd2x0


    Not sure I'd agree with that, yes you get the house kitted out but you usually pay more for the pleasure, the flooring is usually poor (especially when it comes to laminate flooring they use < 10mm which is usually creaky and more importantly it's not to your own personal taste. Showhouses look great but try and actually live in one and you'll soon find you wish you didn't have to dump so many impractical things. You also have the pleasure of having furniture/floorings that have been trampled on and already have wear and tear from 100's coming in to view, sure they'll clean it but that's only superficial, could be springs destroyed in the bed from little Johnny jumping up and down whilst viewing it with his parents etc.

    Guess it really depends what kind of painter are you, do you prefer a blank canvas or do you want paint-by-numbers canvas? Nothing wrong with either approach but if some posters think I'm out of this world for suggesting €40k well the showhouse in my estate went for €50k over the houses of the same type as they sold it with the contents.

    I live in a former show house. No laminate flooring anywhere. I certainly didn’t pay anything near 50k more than the house next door.


  • Administrators Posts: 53,127 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭awec


    Fridge freezer washing machine 1000

    Bed and mattress 500

    Couch 500

    Blinds 500

    Flooring 3000

    Table and chairs - ours were free - say 500

    Edit 500 for oven


    After that as much or as little as you want.
    You may not need flooring???

    Blinds will cost a lot more than 500 and flooring will cost a lot more than 3000 unless your house is tiny.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭jlm29


    Don’t underestimate the costs of all the things you won’t be buying second hand but can’t do without.
    Crockery
    Cutlery
    Kitchen utensils
    Small appliances (kettle, toaster, hoover etc etc)
    Mop and bucket,
    Duvets
    Pillows
    Sheets
    Curtains & blinds


  • Registered Users Posts: 329 ✭✭The_Fitz


    Might be worth it sourcing appliances and furniture in the north.

    The in laws were looking at a sofa in DFS, travelled up north and bought the same one in DFS there. Saved maybe 250e overall (not to be sniffed at). The shop assistant said it's the same vans used all over so no real difference.

    Obviously, you then have the issue if you need to return anything you will have to drive.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11 seabelle


    I think the most important thing is not be daunted and to shop around. I got curtains on sale in Dunnes for around a fiver when we moved in they were grand until I worked out what I wanted for the windows, I now have some made to measure blinds from blinds2go that I'm really happy with.

    Amazon basics crockery is very good for the money and one of the patterns is usually on discount. You can usually get utensils for very little from aldi or lidl or even dunnes just to get you started.

    The Emma mattress is very highly rated and often has discounts of 40-45%.

    Tk Maxx and Homesense have a lot of homeware discounted you can get high thread count sheets for the same price as more basic ones in another shop.

    People are very generous, even little housewarming gifts of crockery etc could go a long way in stocking your new kitchen.

    You can start with the minimum and add things as needed.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,581 ✭✭✭DesperateDan


    Don't forget about fuel / plumbing and other infrastructure.

    Water, probably mains but if not you might need some serious money on well and purifying equipment, and septic tanks.

    Are all the gutters in good condition and roofing etc. with good drainage everywhere.

    Is it mains gas or do you need potentially new or serviced oil burners, tanks, pallets of home heating fuel, etc. Is the fuse board in good condition and certified? Many electricians will not touch a property first without it.

    Is there good pressure in all the taps, is the heating and all radiators working. Do you need to zone any of the heating, does it need to work with a smart thermostat?

    Finally security, cameras and alarms can be crazy money, but a good idea at least to scare people off if you might own the place for a while before moving in.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭SozBbz


    Is the duplex second hand or a new build?

    If second hand, you may be able to get a lot of items left behind, ie kitchen appliances, blinds etc - be clear in what you're asking for while negotiating the sale.

    If its new, you will probably have to set aside some funds for all of the above.

    I know a lot of friends who went all out when they bought their houses, interior designers, custom items, the works! But this is not necessary.

    When I bought my first property I did spend a bomb (new kitchen, flooring, painting and soundproofing plus all the furnature - cost a LOT) but I focused on the areas that I'd be using from day one, my bedroom and the living room for example and didnt worry about furnishing the spare rooms for some time. Also the previous owner left behind an old oak table and chairs and I ended up using them for about a year. They didnt go with my decor but they did a job, and I eventually donanted them to charity once I found a new set I was happy to buy which took ages. My mam was looking to get rid of a double bed from her house so I got that from her for the cost of hiring a white van man to deliver it, and ultimately we turned the 3rd bedroom into a home office so I was glad I didnt rush out to buy a bed for that room.

    In hindsight, I definitly ended up with some items that I didnt love, probably because I was making decisions so quickly and without being able to see items together, so don't be afraid to take your time and don't let anyone rush you.

    I definitely learned when I moved into my 2nd home. I took my bed and dining set, but bought new sofa as the living room is very different. We've done this one more slowly and took some furniture from the old place where it was still suitable. I still need lots of things for this place in we're in roughly 6 months. I've nothing in the hallway for example because I've not seen anything suitable and its not causing any problems so I'm happy to wait.

    You have to prioritise - don't worry about spare rooms or side tables etc. Get yourself a good bed and a good sofa. Scrounge from family and friends in the short term or buy second hand if you can't afford to buy the pieces you really want just yet. Cheap sofas or beds are a false economy so do buy good quality items, and make do with hand me downs or 2nd hand until you can afford to do so.

    Don't feel the pressure to do more than you can afford. Make sure you have enough to buy good quality essential items but don't worry about the finishing touches.


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