Haha well, I quickly realised I messed up when I moved in, and realised furniture is hella expensive. This post is following from my previous post: House hunting as an adult.
So, I moved in to my first non-student house in October 2021. This was 2 weeks after I started work, and I was already seriously stressed about balancing driving to work, settling into work and living. Thankfully payday was 1 week away from when I moved in so, I held off on furniture until then, but “Do you know what furniture is a basic human need?”
Fridge! Oh my goodness, I had no idea that this was an essential piece of furniture, until I wanted to get some food. I couldn’t get milk or butter. I just had bread and peanut butter and ended up buying those little hotel milks that don’t need refrigerating. The reason I waited for a fridge is because the advert for the house said there was an integrated fridge, but when I entered the house there wasn’t a fridge, and when I asked the Lettings Agent, they said the Landlord is not providing a fridge unless the house was purchased, not rented. I was horrified! If I had known, I would have got the fridge to arrive in the house, when I was moving in, so then it would be working by the end of the day.
Wi-Fi! I know, I know this is a luxury according to some people, but it was a basic need for me when I moved in. It was installed 2 weeks after I moved in. Bearing in mind I started work in the middle of a pandemic, working from home was a norm, and yet, home for me, had no Wi-Fi. I didn’t even have a port, I had to wait for an engineer to drill holes in the walls and reconnect cut cables (because the landlord didn’t think about that when he renovated the property), and still the landlord didn’t reimburse me for that process because he wants me to uninstall it when I move out.
Curtains! I knew this place didn’t have curtains or rails, but I didn’t think it was that bad when I viewed the place. No way, everyone can see what you are doing! There is no privacy, I didn’t have curtains for 2 weeks! I had to purchase everything and install them, and weirdly enough my landlord doesn’t want me to leave them in the house, so I have to cover those holes too. But curtains are essential or blinds, because you feel so vulnerable and exposed, it’s very uncomfortable.
Gas and electricity! Ok, this was installed in the house when I moved in, however, it didn’t work for the first 7-18 hours that I had occupied the house. The landlord had let the meters get into serious debt, and the provider shut them off. I had no idea what to do with gas and electric meters, and the lettings agent had no idea either. They were clueless! It took me 8 hours to get electricity and another 11 hours after that to get my gas going. I was lucky I had a kettle, bucket and hot water bottles, because the nights aren’t warm in October, and a hot shower was not looking likely.
The whole process screamed red flags from the perspective of the Lettings agent and landlord, and sadly there was no way for me to leave the property since the contract was watertight. These furnishings are very serious and will be a core consideration for me when I look for properties in my future.
When you get furnished, you get everything except the actual Wi-Fi provider. You will still need to choose who will give you the broadband, but the ports should already be there, so it’s waiting for the hub to be delivered, which takes days (depending on your location). I was influenced by the idea that I wanted my own space and to decorate it as my own, hence why I went for unfurnished. But with furnished, there are things already on the walls; I can just change them without adding more holes. With furnished, there are already the basic goods needed to settle in all you need to bring is your clothes, as a bare minimum.
Moral of my story:
- Check what unfurnished means– My place came with a “fully integrated kitchen” which actually meant a washing machine, stove and oven, and space for a fridge.
- Unfurnished doesn’t mean you can personalise– Check with your lettings agent or landlord, some may be open to you adding some decoration, or they could be like mine and not care that you need curtains and Wi-Fi.
- Really consider what would be best for you– What works in your budget and is negotiable with your landlord, can really determine whether or not you really need an unfurnished place.
