Buying a home is an exciting accomplishment, especially for the first time. It’s a tremendous feeling to be a homeowner, having a place all your own. If it’s a house, as opposed to a condo, it also brings more space than an apartment.
Of course, buying a home also brings lots of expenses as well. These expenses might go beyond the transaction costs associated with the purchase.
This came to mind recently as I was walking through downtown, and just randomly heard a few seconds of conversation that struck me as interesting. Two women in their 20’s were walking in the opposite direction of me, and as they approached, I heard one of them tell the other “I can’t wait to get a house in the ‘burbs so I can buy lots of furniture and stuff for it!”
Really?
At one time, I too lived in the city (Chicago, for a few years) in a “trendy” area for younger professionals. Eventually, I too moved to the suburbs. Yes, I’ll admit, it was kind of exciting to move to a new stage in life. My thoughts were probably similar to hers, though I was a bit more averse to spending money.
The thing is, as I heard that comment from the woman walking by, I considered her comment in light of my own experience. The conclusion I came up with is that it just might be a bit insane to charge forward with such excitement toward buying things for a new home.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Buying a house should be exciting, right? It’s a big moment in the lives of people. However, the way some of us do it can be over the top. I say that because when buying a first house, which has more space than the apartment or condo environs from which one might be moving, lots of things just have to be purchased, right?
There are empty rooms to fill, and not all of your furniture will take up all the space. New furniture, for a living room, dining room, bedroom, etc – can all be quite costly. There just might be window treatments to purchase, some fixtures to replace, and other remodeling to “personalize” the home. These costs can all add up into the thousands. Depending on how much furniture and remodeling is done, it could be a 5 figure expenditure.
The woman who was talking was so excited about buying things for the house. I wonder if she really analyzed and understood just how much that home purchase really cost?
What it comes down to is this: when buying a home, it’s important to keep in mind that amidst all the euphoria, costs do add up. Quickly. Thus, plan accordingly and budget for such expenses ahead of time. This is a time when it’s critical to discern wants from needs, as emotions can come into play big time.
My Questions for You:
- If you have purchased a home (either house or townhome/condo), did you incur significant “extra” expenses beyond those related to the transaction?
- Did you feel the need to buy all kinds of new things for your new place, or did you try to make do with what you already had for the most part?
We incurred a lot of extra expense with our first home. We only had crappy furniture and slowly replaced the junk with a bit better stuff. Here are some other cost that I remember – blinds, some appliances, more expensive electric bills, water and sewer bill, trash bill, property tax bill, property insurance, landscaping, and I probably forgot some. The bigger the house the higher all these bills will go.
Our first new home was ten years ago, and we made a few mistakes with crappy new furniture that just didn’t last. As I look around the rooms, most of the furniture was bought at yard sales, auctions and thrift stores.
The high cost was in eventually replacing the contractor-grade amenities like cheap carpet and fixtures.
We actually did buy a house recently. And you are right, there are empty spaces all over! But we are in no hurry to fill it! Going slow – after all I have all the time in the world before I can call the house truly mine! 🙂
The first place purchased was a condo that was perhaps a touch smaller than the one bedroom apartment I’d been renting. We did purchase some new furniture for that unit over the three years we lived there, but those were replacements for the hand-me-down dining table and futon bed I had (the ex had lived in a studio apartment with very little furniture). The last move was to a house with three levels and four bedrooms: much, much larger. Over the eight years we bought real living room furniture (couch, loveseat, and chairs to replace the old futon/sofa I’d moved in with), dressers for the bedroom, a guest bed, desks, and bookshelves. But we didn’t run out and buy it all at once because there was no reason to rush. After the divorce I was left with the bulk of the furniture, but still only enough to furnish the first floor and one bedroom. That just made it easier to rent out the extra bedrooms, though. 🙂
We purchased a home 2 1/2 years ago, thinking we would be getting a great price. Of course the market has gone backwards since then. Our kitchen needed remodeling when we moved in. We made the mistake of over-improving; choosing granite counters, travertine floors, and high-end stainless appliances. Now, I think we would have been better off with a simpler makeover, and invested the difference into reducing the principle.
We had/have tons of hand me down furniture so filling up the house was never an issue, but I distinctly remember the first 4 seasons being expensive…oh crap, it’s fall and the yard is covered with leaves, we need to buy rakes. Darn, the first snowfall, I need a snowblower and shovels. Oh spring, I need garden tools.
WE bought an estate, so we did get some stuff with the house like the lawnmower and trash cans, but most of the time it was “oops, I forgot the homeowners took the washer/dryer, time to go shopping.”
I never felt compelled to buy furniture unless I had the money to do so. Over the years, I had some empty rooms for a period of time, but that was okay. My wife is really good at decorating and mixing things up. Maybe that helps!
We built our home over 10 years ago…never felt the need to fill it up with furniture so it was kind of empty for a while. Of course, the kids’ stuff just seemed to accumulate overnight – strollers, high chairs, toys, books, etc. etc. so the place really never felt empty. Anyway, we’ve never done any serious decorating although we are thinking about that now.
I couldnt agree more… first came the living room furniture, then the dining room, and now i need another bedroom set. This is a lot of expense to take in right after buying a house. I have plenty of empty space in my home right now, and I don’t plan on filling it for quite some time.
Justin – yep, the pattern you describe is how it often works. It looks like you’re working to halt the procession of purchases, or at least slow it down, and that’s great.