How crazy is it to move into a newly finished flat and immediately rip out / change all the fixtures and fittings?

[QuimReaper]

I'm looking at a newly done flat which is in a really nice development and looks like a great space. But it's done out in a very masculine style - the panelling, cupboard doors, bathroom and kitchen are all black. It boggles my mind to think of moving into a box-fresh flat and taking out a kitchen that's never been used, but is that something people do if they don't like the style?

Can't you paint it?
Or just replace the cupboard doors?

I wouldn't, no.
Can't you choose another flat? Isn't that the point of house hunting? Find somewhere that you want to live in.

Find the cheapest way you can do it. We bought a beautifully finished house and replaced all the flooring cos we hated it. Completely worth it: property was perfect for us and worth it.

Find somewhere else as you’re paying a premium for all that stuff you want to replace

Of course I can - it's a speculative question, I haven't bought it.

What an absolute waste sending brand new equipment straight to landfill. I think you should live with it or find another flat.

This is pretty much what I'm thinking. It seems such a shame for it to come with sparkling new stuff that I personally find very uninviting, but then, I am probably out of the loop on what's en vogue! It's probably aimed at the bachelor pad market.

If I'd got past the noodling-around-on-rightmove stage I would consider living with it

You clearly have lots of money to spend to even contemplate this , surely a better use for all that money is to invest in a more expensive flat ?

I’d get somewhere else. Too much faff!

When we were looking for a house I hated the ones that had clearly been a flip by someone watching too much homes under the hammer. Cheap carpets/paints/fixtures and they wanted a premium because it had just been renovated. Nope, I’d rather buy somewhere a bit worn and do it exactly as I want with no guilt about ripping out new.

Yes, I wouldn’t want to pay for a box-fresh but pug-ugly kitchen and then pay all over again to have it removed and replaced. I’d buy somewhere else.

Nope, I’d rather buy somewhere a bit worn and do it exactly as I want with no guilt about ripping out new.

Exactly my thoughts! I'd assumed I'd need to budget for personalising whatever I buy, but the idea of spending that money undoing something that's never even been used sticks very much in my craw.

Why would you assume it would go to landfill? When I redo a house, I give away or sell the existing kitchen if I don't want it or parts of it. A local charity even takes them out and refits in another home.

Thank you all for confirming my suspicions on this - I wondered if it was just the accepted thing to move into one of these places and immediately redo them!

When we bought our house 20 years ago it had a brand new kitchen only been in situ 4 month but I didn't like it because not enough cupboards and it had a breakfast bar taking up a lot of room which I didn't think we needed because we had a dining room with a table. I had to decide to buy the house and live with the kitchen or to find another house. I chose to buy the house because it was in a good catchment for school and houses in that location with big garden did not come up very often. After about 6 years we had a terrible fire and I got to choose my new kitchen.

Just replace the doors. You could even ask the sales office as part of the negotiation if they will replace the doors- it is likely they developer could use the existing ones on another property, in that development or another

Back when we bought, we saw a few places which had almost brand new kitchens or similar. In most cases, the sale was being driven by divorce but in one instance it was the death of the husband and the wife could no
lomger afford the mortgage.
The kitchens were really high spec but just not to our taste. It felt wrong to be ripping out this sort of thing out, especially as, for budget reasons, I knew we’d be replacing it would lower quality items. Sentimentally, it felt bad enough to be buying someone’s house in such circumstances but even more to then rip out something I am sure they put a lot of thought, care and and money into planning. Realistically, I also knew that, whilst I didn’t want to live with it, with a toddler and being pregnant at the time of house hunting, there would inevitably be delays and we would end up living with it for longer than planned.
I am so glad we stuck it out and kept looking. As it was, the place we bought had beige bathrooms and, whilst I didn’t like them, they weren’t very offensive. We only replaced them a year or so ago and it makes me so happy every time I go into the bathroom to see these gorgeous, white, clean tiles

I agree. It would seem so wasteful.