House 'stuff' wise to buy now & hold

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etna

Guest
Building of my new house is to commence in September, I am signing the contract with the builder this week. I am debating whether to spend €15k immediately available to me on house stuff or to invest this money in a demand account like Northern Rock.

If I do by house stuff, what represents good value to buy now. Storage should not be a problem. I recently became an AAM member and this is my first post, I'd appreciate your thoughts.
 
Hello Etna,

My gut response is...........save your money for now:) . In fact I'd say don't buy any of the non essentials until you are safely ensconced in your new home - unless, you're getting such a bargain that it will never again be repeated. You'll have a better feel for what you want when you move in. And while your money is earning interest you can enjoy the time window/net shopping.

Every good wish with your new home


Justsally
 
Why not consider using the €15K (in part or full) to reduce your borrowing requirements for the new home thereby reducing your overall interest bill? On the other hand if this €15K represents most or all of your ready cash/savings you should probably consider holding at least an emergency fund (e.g. a few months' living expenses) on deposit for easy access, use some of it for incidental costs relating to the build/purchase (e.g. legal fees etc.) and consider investing the rest for the longer term.

As ever it's hard to comment authoritatively without much more detailed information about your overall situation.
 
I'd use the time available to shop around for the best deals-if you are under no pressure to buy now that should enable you to get a better deal and perhaps hit any summer sales (if they exist for the items you are buying).

Obviously it is in your interests to have the money earning as much interest as possible while you are buying/deciding what to buy, so put it in Northern Rock.
 
Yes, stick it in Northern Rock in the interim. Theres always new bargains coming up. Anyway, if you buy stuff now and it does not match or fit your new house in 3 months time, you have no chance of exchanging it for new after that time lapse.
 
Who is your mortgage with? If they have an offset mortgage product you could possibly deposit your savings in your current account and have these funds reduce your interest bill while still leaving them available to you when you want/need to purchase items for the house. Otherwise do as others suggest and put it in Northern Rock.

Like other posters mentioned it might be worth buying some items if you get a deal but some I might avoid buying now are:

1) Electronics. TV's etc are constantly falling in price or you can get newer technology in 6-12 months time for what you would pay now.

2) Appliances. I'm not sure but I think the prices are more stable on these so if you buy now the cost might not be much different but you will be running down your warranty time even though they are not getting used.

3) Wood flooring. You say storage is not a problem but is that in terms of space being available or also the enviromental conditions aswell e.g. if they're not right wood could warp etc.
 
One point-if you are a cash buyer you may be able to negotiate discounts on electrical applicances etc.
 
A further point is that you need to check out electrical items etc when you buy them. no point having a years guarantee if you find a fault when yo first plug in the item (15 months after you bought it). then there's also the problem of storage - taking up space for months and possibly getting damaged, damp etc in storage. I had to wait a while for my house to go through and during this time prices went down on Tv's, the fridge i wanted etc.... I'd wait and put the money aside. however if there are smaller things you want/need and you would use pick them up gradually. I really enjoyed buying something small each week .. duvets, towels, crockery etc while waiting for the house to go through.
 
When is the construction of your house likely to be completed? There are always sales in December/January.

Marion
 
Thrifty said:
I really enjoyed buying something small each week .. duvets, towels, crockery etc while waiting for the house to go through.
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Ditto, although I wouldn't use the word "enjoy". There must be at least 200 items that need to be bought for a new house and even besides the cost of having to buy them all at the same time, it's an extremely time consuming task so it should be spread over a few months. That way you can do a bit of research, and pick and choose your house items.
 
There are nearly always sales and special offers on household stuffat all times now. Plus many shops will do a deal with you if you are getting a lot of stuff from them.
I would hold off buying things until the time comes when you need them.
 
Thrifty said:
A further point is that you need to check out electrical items etc when you buy them. no point having a years guarantee if you find a fault when yo first plug in the item (15 months after you bought it).
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The warranty/guarantee will commence from the day you take delivery of the items not date of initial purchase. Once you take delivery you will be issued with a new receipt showing this date and this will act as proof of purchase for guarantee purposes.

then there's also the problem of storage - taking up space for months and possibly getting damaged, damp etc in storage.
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Shop will store the items safely in their warehouse for you until you are ready to take delivery.

I had to wait a while for my house to go through and during this time prices went down on Tv's, the fridge i wanted etc....
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If this happens and you have paid for appliances and they are holding them for you awaiting delivery instruction you will be charged the lower price and refunded the difference when it comes to delivery time. The same is true of model changes. You would have the option of going for the latest models if there are any changes in the interim.

I must add that all of the above has been my experience both working for and purchasing from DID Electrical. Hope this helps!
 
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