Mortgage accepted! When can we start buying furniture?

[kaykkies]

Just got the call from our mortgage advisor that our mortgage has been fully approved and we are now moving onto solicitors.

The sellers want a quick sale and want us in the house within 4 weeks from now.

Contract not signed yet but when is a 'safe' time to start buying furniture?

When you’ve exchanged.

If the furniture you want to purchase will fit any sort of house I would get it on order, sometimes you can wait weeks, our sofas took 12 wks.

We got told a 10 week lead time for everything we have looked at so far

The owners are on our backs to get themselves moved out asap. Will be moving in with no furniture

Check the returns policy on the furnishing. if it's refundable then go for it as can take several weeks to order beds and sofas and you can't really live somewhere without them.

If not refundable then think about where you can put it if things fall through - how much storage etc would cost and if you're willing to take the risk. If the sellers are that keen it may be worthwhile to take the risk but be prepared things can fall though even in easy sales.

When we moved last time DFS let us order, they held the order, then we instructed them when to release (I can't remember how much notice they required to release). But as others have said if anything is very specific to the house and no use if the sale were to fall through you're better off waiting until exchange.

I'd wait til exchange. See what you can get from Freecycle or borrow from friends or family while you wait. We went weeks and weeks sleeping on a a mattress on the floor and had beanbags instead of a sofa for a while! It's a bit annoying but much less annoying than spending £££ on furniture that you then don't want or can't use if somehow the purchase falls through.

You don’t need furniture to move in! A blow up mattress and a couple of camping chairS. It’s part of the adventure of owning your first house.

I had deckchairs in my first house for about 6 weeks until my sofa came.

I would put deposits down for the big things like couch and dining table once you’ve signed the contracts. We moved in last week and only have 2 armchairs (nursery chairs) in the living room while we wait. Couch is taking 12-16 weeks from DFS!

Went with an IKEA bed frame so we wouldn’t have to wait for that and already had kitchen supplies etc.

I’d wait. House purchasing can create all sorts of delays. Would you have anywhere to store stuff if the timescales promised are not met?
We wanted a quick sale, priced accordingly and sold very quickly.
That was in December and we’ve still not moved due to buyers being disorganised. There was only one Covid related delay.

only furniture you would really waiting on is a sofa
everything else you need you could get quite quicker unless you are getting bespoke stuff

We ordered from oak furniture land and they let us order to our new address, we explained it to them and they said if it got knocked back to let them know. It did in the end and they moved the date straightaway they were actually really good and it meant the furniture came the day after we got the keys.

When you say you're moving onto solicitors, has the process not been running alongside your final mortgage approval? I've bought a few houses in the last couple of years and I've never known solicitors to hold up making a start on the draft contracts, searches etc pending a mortgage offer.

If the solicitors really are just starting now you'll be lucky to have completed in 4 weeks and will need to stay on top of them for progress updates etc as the whole process can be painfully slow otherwise.

In terms of the furniture, I'd probably order it but factor in the cost of storage if for whatever reason the house isn't ready by the time it arrives.

Well how much do you already have? Have you been renting together/separately so already have lots of bits? Or have you been living with family? If you're living together already then you'll probs find that you've got loads of perfectly fine stuff already and you might not want to buy big units etc until you've been living there and can see how you'd like to use the space. After a week or two we just went to IKEA on a Friday night, picked out what we wanted and then they delivered it from the store the next day for about £20. Not sure if they're still doing this atm though!

We got a lot of our bulky furniture (sofas etc) the first time around from furniture charity shops. You can usually get some really good quality stuff - we got a DFS suite similar to the one we'd been looking at in said shop for about £180 and it was delivered the next day. We still have that set 6+ years on and regularly get complements about it. In all honesty, I think we will probs look around the charity shops for our next sofa too. We already had a cheap bed but we did buy a fancy one with a better mattress shortly after moving in. One essential thing we did buy before moving was two fold up camping chairs from Asda (2 for £10) and we also still have them in daily use in our conservatory.

I wouldn't buy anything really until you exchange (which you can do at the same time as completion) incase something goes wrong, and there's really no need. You're literally still in the starting blocks if you have just had your mortgage approved and don't have a solicitor yet, as much as you want to get things organised.

I would hold off until the deal is done. I had 2 borrowed garden loungers and a blow up bed when we moved into our first property, then went and ordered furniture.

Also you really need to make sure it will fit! No good ordering sofas etc like a friend did before moving only to find they would not go through the front door or wardrobe up and around the stairs!

Its an exciting time but just be patient or mistakes could be costly

Also ditto above reg solicitors - we've always had to give our solicitor details at the point of offer acceptance, before you get the paperwork through from the EA confirming the agreed price etc. Have you not done that yet? Searches in some areas can take weeks and there's no way of doing them quicker... Even if the vendors are keen to move quickly don't let them bully you into not querying anything etc. Take as long as you need with the solicitors regardless of how much they want you in - was it marketed as paperwork ready given they're apparently so keen?

Buy second hand at first if need be - you can then work out what really suits the space and order the perfect sofa etc. Many shops are cash and carry, don't just go to the national chains

@rottiemum88

When you say you're moving onto solicitors, has the process not been running alongside your final mortgage approval? I've bought a few houses in the last couple of years and I've never known solicitors to hold up making a start on the draft contracts, searches etc pending a mortgage offer.

If the solicitors really are just starting now you'll be lucky to have completed in 4 weeks and will need to stay on top of them for progress updates etc as the whole process can be painfully slow otherwise.

In terms of the furniture, I'd probably order it but factor in the cost of storage if for whatever reason the house isn't ready by the time it arrives.

of course it has been running a long side. moving onto the next stage of the solicitors using the information now provided by our mortgage lenders and confirming dates of fund release etc.

@Cardboard33

Also ditto above reg solicitors - we've always had to give our solicitor details at the point of offer acceptance, before you get the paperwork through from the EA confirming the agreed price etc. Have you not done that yet? Searches in some areas can take weeks and there's no way of doing them quicker... Even if the vendors are keen to move quickly don't let them bully you into not querying anything etc. Take as long as you need with the solicitors regardless of how much they want you in - was it marketed as paperwork ready given they're apparently so keen?

see above.

Asking about furniture here not seeking advice on my mortgage. everything is as it should be.

Just wondering when other people stared buying their furniture

I’d be careful about buying anything on finance - they could credit check you again at any point up until completion.
However if you’re buying outright I’d start ordering things 😊

When you've got the keys!

Gives you a chance to redecorate anything that needs doing or to your own taste before you load the place full with furniture. And the furniture might not go with the existing decor, either. Really wish I'd done this when we bought our place!!!

Where are you living now, what furniture do you currently have? Use that to start with.

We never order furniture until exchange. Half the fun of buying your first house is making do with what you've got for the first couple of months anyway.

Never try and put a pin in dates for house transactions, there are so many things that can delay it. 4 weeks from mortgage offer to completion sounds doable as long as you've had and approved your survey but you really never know and it only takes one solicitor to sit on things for a while for it all to go wrong.

@Margo34

When you've got the keys!

Gives you a chance to redecorate anything that needs doing or to your own taste before you load the place full with furniture. And the furniture might not go with the existing decor, either. Really wish I'd done this when we bought our place!!!

Where are you living now, what furniture do you currently have? Use that to start with.

current furniture: NADA :(

have a set of knives that some ones given us that they had as an unwanted wedding present and thats it

When you get the keys. Camp in the house for a few weeks. Much easier to paint/redecorate/mend with nothing there anyway.

Ikea usually have some stuff in stock if you are desperate but I'd really caution against ordering anything before you have the keys. Things go wrong with house purchases all the time.

When you have moved in. It's sucky, but you don't know how you want to use the rooms yet.

You can base things on measurements and the floor plan but you get a much better idea when you can size everything up when you are standing in the room with a tape measure.