Must haves as a new home owner?

[ChocolateTea]

I’ve just bought my house (well taken out a mortgage!) and I’ve been renting for 15 years so I’m a bit rusty as to what I need to get, and what I don’t, insurance and cover wise

so far I have in place
Buildings Insurance
Contents Insurance
Life Insurance

im someone who loves to pay monthly for things like car insurance, breakdown cover, etc and although I have savings I do prefer paying in advance for stuff (like prepayment cert for prescriptions, some years it works out value for money, some years it doesn’t, but I like having it there)

so what else could be worth looking into?

I’ve found boiler cover? £18 a month for parts, labour, 24 hour breakdown, whole heating system covered, annual service. My heating system is maybe 5 years old and has been annually serviced, so it’s something I’m used to? But not sure if £18 a month is worth it?

any other kind of things I should be looking at as well, now I’m a home owner and not a renter?

Critical illness cover or mortgage protection cover? i.e. to cover mortgage/bills if you get sick for longer than your work would give you sick pay for.

I wouldn’t pay £18/month for boiler cover. I pay about £3 a month for boiler/plumbing/heating cover with my buildings and contents cover (Aviva). And then pay a plumber about £70 a year to do a boiler service.

consider putting some money aside each month for house maintenance, like cleaning gutters/fascias and windows - get a few local quotes. And any painting/decorating you want to do.

I might ring my buildings and contents and see if that’s something they offer then! I’m with the same lender as my mortgage for the first year, as it was easier (as the buildings insurance was a term of my mortgage) but can shop around from next year. I thought £18 for the full service, 24/7 call out and all parts and labour was quite good, but shows how long since I’ve looked at this stuff!

critical Illness I did look into, but quotes were really high due to me having longer term issues from covid (which are now signed off) so I need to look into it again. I do have additional cover through my work based pension as well though. I’m also fortunate that the mortgage is based on my salary only and 50% value to loan, but my DP also lives here and contributes 50/50 to the bills etc. I do definitely need to look into it though

im currently saving 20% of my wages every month into a separate account, for various things (I’ve never been in a position to save before the last two years, due to retraining and career change) so feel comfortable we can afford little extras

I wouldn't stress about boiler cover at this moment in time, if you get an issue British Gas homecare can be added immediately to get cover. It will cost you a little more initially but it's pointless paying monthly at the moment, especially if it's been serviced regularly.

Factor in costs of appliances if you haven't already, in case they're not included etc - they're usually the bulk of where money goes initially after getting keys

I think that after having those insurances in place, I would probably be thinking of what skills/services you may need and build up a contact list of reliable, well recommended (by neighbours/real people) people who fulfill those roles. Obviously depends on what your house needs.
Eg, someone who cleans the gutters, window cleaner, chimney sweep, - coal and wood supplier, local 24/7 plumber, handyman, glazing expert etc. Takes the stress out of situations knowing who to call when something happens.

Firstly - congratulations on your purchase! That must feel so good after renting.
You are taking a sensible approach on thinking of this, but my own plumber told me boiler cover was a waste - I pay about £75 per year for service on a 15 year old boiler. Better save money to replace it when the time comes.
You may think of an alarm with monitoring. It can reduce insurance costs and gives great peace of mind.

I never buy the insurance cover for items.

But for the last 25 years, I have saved £1 per week per item that I have. Fridge, freezer, oven, microwave, dishwasher,
Washing machine, tumble drier, boiler.. Think that's it. I've always had enough to replace what died. I've never had 2 items die in the same year.

I do have a separate bank account for this so it can't be used for other expenses. I moved on from a jam jar😁

Ask around your local friends/family for the details of any good reliable tradespeople they can recommend. Trust me you don’t want to be cold calling roofers from the free ads when your ceiling starts raining!

Brilliant, thank you guys

All appliances are mine, including the cooker, so I know their age and usage etc. great idea about £1 per week per appliance though. I’m with NatWest and do roundup, and that goes into my savings every time I purchase so if I ringfence that for appliance breakdowns that could work well

im quite handy in that I’ve done a lot of painting and decorating myself already, but we have had to replace the front door so I already know a good glazier for that and I feel I could trust them for any other window issues. My next door neighbour works for a gas firm, and so does two doors down, so that’s a plus for emergencies I think! Both my dad and my FIL were in the building trade which will also help - neither can do much themselves anymore but both could talk us through where to go and what to do

Im just hoping the worry about being liable for stuff starts to fade! My son made a joke about a floor giving way and it gave me palpitations! But that’s what buildings insurance is for right?!

Don’t want to be a party pooper. - but be wary of mixing friendship with business. (Ie using your next door neighbour for paid works). Good neighbours are worth so much, and sometimes, business/repairs go wrong. It isn’t worth it except for extreme life threatening emergencies like fire and flooding.
Also be wary of using people who have knowledge that isn’t up to date with new regulations, because they retired from the business 20 years ago. Basic knowledge of plumbing/electrics doesn’t change, but new gadgets/rules/methods etc happen fairly frequently.
Again apologies for being a negative Nora.

We are a member of our local area Facebook page, and have had great recommendations on there for reliable tradespeople.

On a smaller scale, fire alarms/carbon monoxide detectors, and possibly a fire blanket/extinguisher in the kitchen. These would probably have been provided as standard in rental properties.

Totally agree - it’s part why they won’t do any work themselves, even things like fitting a gas cooker, because regulations have changed. But they can help give us some guidance which is good. I also agree about mates and paid work, fell down that trap with a car and a friend a few years ago where they did something really dangerous which could have killed me!

We have wired in smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide alarm but not a blanket or extinguisher so will look into those!

On the subject of all things fire. Have a plan of what you would do in a fire. So maybe a fire safe box with all your important details in it such as a copy of your insurances, v5, list of passcodes, (your phone may be melted) drivers licence etc so you have a chance at regaining control of your life afterwards. Plus have an escape plan for your house - how would you get out of the upper storey? Do you need a step stool to reach a window? Do you have a key for the window lock to hand in each room, ensure fire exits aren’t blocked etc.