I'm a first time buyer - this is the biggest mistake I made when it was time to move into my new home

A homeowner has shared the biggest mistake she made before moving into her first property. 

Devamsha Gunput, 28, from Edinburgh, is a content creator and former tech consultant who bought her first home in the Scottish capital this year. 

In a recent Instagram partnership with Expedia UK, Gunput shared an essential tip for first-time homebuyers, though her advice was met with mixed reactions. 

In a video posted to @expedia_uk on June 4, Gunput - known as @devamsha on the social app - disclosed a critical oversight she made before settling into her new property: forgetting to account for the cost of furniture. 

She explained: 'I made a huge mistake when I bought my new place - and that was completely forgetting to furnish it. Bed frames, a mattress, wardrobes, a sofa...'  

Gunput noted the overwhelming number of considerations when purchasing a new home, but failing to include furniture in her upfront costs left her scrambling.

She added: 'To be fair, there's a lot to think about when you get a new place, but by not factoring that into my upfront costs, I had to think really quickly.' 

To address the issue, Gunput admitted she had to rework her budget and rely on a credit card to cover the initial expenses, while emphasising the importance of managing this responsibly.

The content creator said: 'I ended up moving around my budget, using my credit card to fund the really basic furniture requirements for the first few weeks - making sure that I could actually afford the repayment and paying off the credit card in full.'

Additionally, Gunput highlighted a common challenge faced by homebuyers in Edinburgh: the necessity to compromise on either a kitchen or a bathroom. 

She added: 'Also, buying a flat in Edinburgh means one thing: you have to compromise on either a kitchen or a bathroom - and I compromised on both.

'So, If you're also on your home buying journey, don't forget to think about those first few weeks or months in your new place, and what kind of basic furniture you'd need. And what you need to buy straight away versus what you might need to save up for.' 

A number of Instagram users expressed condemned Gunput's method of being able to afford essential items, while others suggested alternative ways to acquire furniture without breaking the bank or accumulating debt. 

One person suggested, 'Better idea: just buy second hand,' while another said: 'Just get mattress and sleep on it until you have actual money to spend on furniture. Going into debt just so you can show off is a bad idea.'

An third added: 'I would have been on Facebook marketplace, you can actually get much better quality for your money.'

Another commented: 'You don't need to buy everything at once. Sleeping on a foam on the floor is fine. Everything can be purchased with a salary over the following months.'

A fifth user said: 'Use what you have then go to free cycle or used goods until you replace as you go along. Some apartments come with white goods and furniture can be negotiated with the property sale. The possibilities are endless.'

It comes as figures show a 29 per cent rise in over-50s clambering on to the property ladder at the end of their working life – a time when traditionally many of us would have hoped to have paid off our mortgage and be planning for retirement.