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AIBU?

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Original poster

To have a first world wtf moan!?

67 replies

Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 15:26

So we are buying a new house, it’s gorgeous. I love it. It’s a new build and will be home for the absolute foreseeable.
I am absolutely bowled over by how much it’s costing to get the house in a live in condition!
nearly 30k for appliances including fitting ( cooker, hob, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, microwave oven, quooker tap), tiles and fitting in all downstairs apart from sitting room, tiles and fitting in main bathroom and two en-suites, bathroom sink units, wood floors and fitting in 5 beds and sitting room and painting.

We haven’t even looked at carpet for the stairs yet and I need to get the dc bedroom furniture!! This is insane.

Moan is the wrong word I suppose but oh my god…haemorrhaging money is an understatement 😭

OP posts:
Foodoverload · 17/06/2025 17:35

I bought my new build last year. I had no furniture or appliances as all mine got sold with the previous house. I was also renting and needed to be out on my exchange date.

I bought extras from the developer as it was convenient. Integrated appliances, flooring and upgrades. I did cap it at £16k, so concentrated on essentials and stuff I would get most use out of.

my house was a shell. I could have gotten it cheaper if I did it myself. But the developer wouldn’t have put in casing for my appliances. Also I had saved for ages and just wanted everything new. It’s the only time i will do this. I did dace lots on furniture in sales, nearly new shops and looking around.

but be aware. I didn’t cost up a back garden. Mine came with 6 paving slabs and soil. That was expensive but I managed to find a local company to make it useful.

JustMarriedBecca · 17/06/2025 17:29

Yeah don't get a hot tap.
They spit and the servicing is awful so you need a kettle anyway. This defeating the point of a hot tap.
And the tea doesn't taste right

Hot taps are the 2020 equivalent to a 1990s wine fridge.

PurpleYarnivore · 17/06/2025 17:29

It took a good year for our new build to settle and the snags to be fixed so we didn’t repaint til after that and it’s not essential . We had to order and pay for blinds and carpet but everything else was included , flooring downstairs , cooker , dishwasher etc only appliance we needed was a washing machine seems a lot that isn’t included for a new build . It does sound a reasonable price for everything you are having doing tho .

AgnesX · 17/06/2025 17:19

Sounds about right really. A chunk of it will be the labour.

Nourishinghandcream · 17/06/2025 17:18

Fully agree about the painting.
It is quite possible that there will be some shrinkage cracks anything up to 2yrs later so I would not worry about decorating straight away.
Our developer had a policy of revisiting after 6-months and making good any cracking, scuffs etc (beyond any snagging or warranty work). In our case there was very little to be done but they did leave us an extra tin of paint (in addition to the one given at completion).

SecondWoman · 17/06/2025 17:16

Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:29

No space for a Sheila maid. I work full time and do my laundry mostly on a Saturday so I need a dryer to be able to get it complete by Sunday

Show quote history

Two FT working parents here. Sheila Maid hangs off the ceiling so takes up no space. And we’ve had a cement floor in the kitchen for getting on for three years — it’s actually fine, and non-dusty.

babystarsandmoon · 17/06/2025 17:15

You do not need to spend that much.

I moved into a brand new build and spent £1k on appliances and £1.5k on some flooring.

BumpyWinds · 17/06/2025 17:09

I remember years ago when it was cheaper to buy a new build house than a "used" house. You'd pay for the extras and have a brand new house in perfect condition for almost the same price as a non new build.

Nowadays they're much more expensive in the first place, then you still have to fork out a load of money for floor coverings and lawns plus kitchens and bathrooms if you don't just want the cheapest option they include.

Meanwhile, I'm living in a 30 year old house that's valued at around £100k less than a nearby new build of the same number of bedrooms, though ours has a bigger floor area and garden.

Yes, my kitchen is at least 15 years old, but it's definitely not going to cost me the price difference between that and a new build. Oh and I have 4 offroad parking spaces, plus a wide open road to park on, rather than one solitary space and a garage that you can only fit a fiat 500 in it, like the new builds round here have.

Sorry OP - I do hope you'll be very happy in your new home, but as you can tell, new builds aren't for me!

Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:57

StoorieHoose · 17/06/2025 16:41

you are painting straight away? You really need to leave the house to settle.you will end up with cracks at the woodwork as the house settles and opens up with the heating on. There is a reason builders do everything g the one colour until the house settles - what if you have snagging works to be done? Customer care might not repaint in your new colours

This house has been sat there for 6-7 months by the time we paint it will be nearly 9months they said it will be fine

OP posts:
Bluevelvetsofa · 17/06/2025 16:52

Don’t paint for a while. Some cracks won’t be fixed until you’ve lived there for a year and you’d be doing it again. Particularly blown tape and ceiling and under window cracks as the house settles.

Toddlerteaplease · 17/06/2025 16:49

My parents paid nowhere near that for their new build.

Topbird29 · 17/06/2025 16:48

I echo the pp - I think they usually recommend waiting a while before painting a new build. May be about a year. Might be a good idea to check.

StoorieHoose · 17/06/2025 16:41

you are painting straight away? You really need to leave the house to settle.you will end up with cracks at the woodwork as the house settles and opens up with the heating on. There is a reason builders do everything g the one colour until the house settles - what if you have snagging works to be done? Customer care might not repaint in your new colours

Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:40

ClaredeBear · 17/06/2025 16:35

Honestly, lots of people have nothing and build up. Sounds like you’re in a very fortunate position if you’re able to buy new appliances, etc. Very exciting!

Coming from rented, I don’t own an appliance so I have to, otherwise I would be taking them all 🤣 but yes it’s exciting at the same time. Thank you

OP posts:
Boreded · 17/06/2025 16:37

Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:31

I did a bit I suppose, but it’s just adding up and it’s eye watering a bit today

Show quote history

My husband wanted one. So I humoured him, went and had a look, told him yeah it was amazing, but that we would need to make sure it was done to the same standard as our own home.

added 80k onto the price just for getting wardrobes and the best kitchen and bathrooms. This was on a house that cost around 320k to start with.

needless to say he realised that having just redone our kitchen and bathroom ourselves, it was not worth the extra money to move

ClaredeBear · 17/06/2025 16:35

Honestly, lots of people have nothing and build up. Sounds like you’re in a very fortunate position if you’re able to buy new appliances, etc. Very exciting!

Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:35

Growlybear83 · 17/06/2025 15:47

Are your improvements really necessary to make the house liveable or are they desirable? Most people I know put up with the decor, bathroom, kitchen etc in a new house until they can afford to do it up bit by bit. You hardly need a dishwasher to make a house liveable!

If it was a house that had been owned before I could put up with it but these are bare walls and concrete floors. Desirable still yes but I would like to have this things done on moving in. I can sort the decor as we go

OP posts:
Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:31

Boreded · 17/06/2025 15:43

Yabu - new builds look good value for money but it’s practically just a shell. To get nice stuff in there it costs 10s of 1000s - didn’t you research the costs before buying?

I did a bit I suppose, but it’s just adding up and it’s eye watering a bit today

OP posts:
Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:29

SecondWoman · 17/06/2025 15:33

You can certainly cut down on that, though. Quookers are hardly a necessity (and make dreadful tea), and since we bought a big Sheila Maid drying rack and hung it from the ceiling in the utility, we have literally never used our tumble dryer again. I wouldn’t bother buying a dryer with a much cheaper and effective alternative.

No space for a Sheila maid. I work full time and do my laundry mostly on a Saturday so I need a dryer to be able to get it complete by Sunday

OP posts:
Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:28

JacquesHarlow · 17/06/2025 15:35

Hang on - what about a Quooker tap means you have to have one to make the house "liveable"...?!

Do you know what the word "liveable" means, @Kitchenbattle ?

Also what is your AIBU question?

The quooker tap is the one bit of ‘let’s go crazy’ and get one thing we are doing to be honest.

OP posts:
Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:27

Growlybear83 · 17/06/2025 15:47

Are your improvements really necessary to make the house liveable or are they desirable? Most people I know put up with the decor, bathroom, kitchen etc in a new house until they can afford to do it up bit by bit. You hardly need a dishwasher to make a house liveable!

I would like to have the kitchen complete yes…it’s an integrated appliance so I’m only going to pay the fitting cost once I suppose.

need floors as it will be just cemwnt otherwise and very dusty

OP posts:
Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:25

Bluevelvetsofa · 17/06/2025 15:54

Some developers have those things as standard. Not the Quooker of course, but the last three new builds we’ve had, have had carpets and flooring, dishwasher, oven induction hob, microwave, washing machine, tumble dryer, bathrooms tiled and wardrobes.

If you buy from a developer that provides you with a basic shell, of course it costs £20-30K to fit it out.

In this house, we put in a water softener and Quooker tap, but the other appliances were provided. All Neff appliances, Porcelanosa tiling and Sylvarna kitchen units. People look at show houses and forget that most of the stuff is an upgrade. This one has those things as standard.

Some of the tiling is included (wet areas and floors in bathroom) but not the hall and kitchen etc

OP posts:
Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:21

Jeezitneverends · 17/06/2025 15:58

Don’t your children have bedroom furniture already?

No they don’t, I’m renting and the house was furnished…

OP posts:
Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:20

Jabberwok · 17/06/2025 16:05

Doesn't the builder paint it? Why are you having to?

Show quote history

The builder paints the initial white coat but not colours no.

OP posts:
Original poster
Kitchenbattle · 17/06/2025 16:20

NewsdeskJC · 17/06/2025 15:42

Sounds ok to me. It is a first world problem.
Your second first world problem is when it all wears out at the same time!

Yes! Can’t wait 😝

OP posts: