Insatiable
When you obtain the keys to your new home, you will likely use them only a few times, maybe only once. There is a danger that other keys may be around, so it is wise to change the front lock.
Actually, you may not need to buy an entire lock. It may suffice to buy just the cylinder and install it yourself. But that is almost the only bargain you will enjoy.
Shortly after I took possession of my house in the early 1990s, the local constabulary gave my house a security survey (they made crime-prevention house calls in those days). Following the police officer's advice, I installed window locks on all of the downstairs windows and a second heavy-duty lock on the front door.
His advisory services were free, but the door lock, more than a half-dozen window locks, and the man who did the work were not.
Floors. Walls. Ceilings. In your new home, costly surprises may await. Typically, you view a property while the owner and their possessions are in place. When you move in, the furniture is gone, and where the paintings and other wall hangings used to be, now, there are ghostly outlines. Redecorating these walls goes onto your to-do list.
Electrics. Wiring that is ten years old is old. The wiring you inherit may need an upgrade before long. Much the same applies to the plumbing as well.
Boilers. Old boilers were sturdily built but are coming to the end of their lifetimes. New boilers need annual inspections even when new and don’t hold up as well as their predecessors. You should either have a plumber you know and trust, or a service contract, or both. Either way it will cost you, although annual contracts usually include a yearly service/inspection.
Tools. Pots and Pans. Stuff in general. Things accumulate. For a time you could get by with a hammer, screw driver, and a few other basic tools. Now, your arsenal includes power drills and saws, maybe even a workbench.
Where do you store all this stuff? If you don’t want chaos, you will have to buy storage bins and boxes, and maybe even cabinets or closets. Many homeowners now rent storage space.
Life style. Not that long ago, British homes had either one small fridge or none at all. Large American-style fridge-freezers? Only the superrich had these and, in the 1980s and early 1990s, the very rich were relatively few in number.
Today, a tall fancy fridge and a separate large freezer unit are relatively commonplace.
We used to get by with a simple electric kettle, adequate for coffee (instant was the norm) as well as tea. We still have the simple kettle but now we also have complicated machines that make latte as well as expresso coffee and froth milk. It is one of the many new must-have objects filling our homes today.
And we also spend loads on our gardens, a topic covered in the Greedy Garden.
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