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This blog explains how buying, building or renting a house works in Australia. It makes an interesting reading for newbies and outsiders, expats and newcomers, basically anyone who is not familiar with Australian real estate market.

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Life is full of surprises. You would think that after paying that enormous amount of money for your first home, dealing with all the lawyers, movers and beggars of all sorts that have left a deep hole in your budget, you can finally relax and start saving up for a vacation.

Not yet. There is another set of expenses characteristic to all the new home owners. If you think about it, it even makes sense – any home requires maintenance, and maintenance requires tools. Here is what you will need to buy during the first month or so after moving in:

1) Lawn mower. Chances are that if you haven’t lived in your own home, you never owned a mower, most people living in rentals just rent mowers twice a year to tidy up for landlord’s inspection. The same is true about the people living in their parent’s house; they never had to buy a mower because there already is one in the household.
Cost: prices start at $200

2) Lawn trimmer. Same as mower, you can rarely find a renter who owns a trimmer because it’s a tool they would rarely use, and they are right: why own another object cluttering the garage, if you can rent one. But when it’s your own home and you want the loan / nature strip to look nice and tidy, it’s impossible without having a loan trimmer handy.
Cost: prices start at $120

3) Leaf blower. If you have a large block of land and a couple of mature trees on it, you will be glad you bought it. Getting the leaves off your yard and the driveway in any other way takes forever.
Cost: prices start at $170

3) Power drill with bit sets. The best thing is to have it before you actually move because it’s an awesome help in both disassembling and assembling the furniture before and after the move. Once settled in your new house, every time there is a picture that needs hanging or a hook that needs attaching, you will thank yourself for getting that power drill. It is virtually impossible to maintain a house without one.
Cost: prices start at $180

4) Step ladder - to be able to change light globes, change batteries in smoke alarms, clean gutters, etc.
Cost: prices start at $100

5) Secateurs, rakes, shovel, garden hose and watering can.
Taking care of garden of any size is impossible without these tools. Trimming tree branches, trimming the bushes, cleaning the yard and watering the plants will quickly become your weekly activities and the need for these tools will become obvious.
Cost: all together around $130 minimum

6) Outdoor furniture. After the garden takes shape, to enjoy and admire it you will need at least a bench to sit on.
Cost: a bench from $70 up, a set of table and 4 chairs from $200 up

Total amount

I could add more things to this list, but the idea here is to just start with the bare minimum. Let’s do the sums – the total amount of “new home expenses” roughly comes to $1000 - $1100.

What else do you think should be on this list? What does your own experience suggest?

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