Costs when you own your home - help first time buyer!

[BuffaloCauliflower]

Wasn’t sure if this was a property question or a money question!? We’re about to be first time buyers in our 30s, so we’ve run a household for a while but never been responsible for the building costs as renting. Mortgage will be huge and we’re in the expensive childcare years too, moving is draining all our savings too so need to be particularly savvy while those are replenished.

Can anyone advise on what I should be expecting to budget for regular home maintenance? I’ve looked at boiler/plumbing/electrical cover, is it worth it? Maybe just for the first year or two until we’re in a better position to manage big surprise costs. Comprehensive buildings and contents insurance already arranged. Grateful for any pointers.

I think it can vary hugely. I bought a house that was ex rental and has cost me £3000 a year in catching up on repairs, just borrowed £9K to do the windows so hopefully that's it for the next 3 years! I didn't realise it was a fixer upper when I bought it. Maybe worth getting an extra survey ask for recommendations for a surveyor and hopefully they can give you an idea what is needed.

Buildings and contents insurance covers anything unexpected. If you have a survey done that will help you know what might need urgent attention if it's more than the normal homebuyers survey required by the mortgage companies. If the boiler is relatively new and serviced annually then I wouldn't bother with boiler insurance. It's relatively inexpensive to get an electrical survey too.

Thinking back on my moves, curtains and furniture are an expense to think about. second hand is probably better than cheap new, you can get nice sturdy items from auctions or eBay.

The type of maintenance and the cost will depend on what you are buying - clearing gutters for example, easy in a bungalow, I can do mine with just a set of steps. If I had a 2 storey house I'd need scaffolding or a big ladder.

@Welliwould @starpatch thanked both, we’ve had a survey and nothing alarming was noted. It’s a 60s house but it fairly good nick, windows fairly recent, cavity wall insulation done, boiler about 10 years old but has had a yearly service which will continue. Having grown up in a home where the boiling breaking was a catastrophe that more than once wasn’t fixed for months for financial reasons, there’s a bit of anxiety there.

It’s a two story house so will need gutters clearing with a tall ladder.

Find out when the last roof replacement was done. That's a big, expensive job. Better yet, have it looked at by a qualified roofing contractor.

Might be helpful to walk around the place with a friend or an experienced house owner, and chat through all the things they spot. Make a list and decide on priorities, and then things that would need doing regularly as if you think you can do them yourself.
Look at flooring, bathroom, kitchen and windows. Those can be expensive to replace. Look at the roof, any bowing? Do the gutters look straight and clean?
Fences and driveway in good condition?

Regular jobs include:
Gardening, lawn mowing, trimming hedges, weeding.
Gutters and any gullies clearing.
Working fireplace or stove? Chimney swept annually
Annual boiler service.
Rural property? Check if you have mains sewage, cesspits and septic tanks are expensive to empty. Oil fired boilers are ok cost wise but you need to ensure you have oil or you'll have no heating.