Purchasing a home is the most expensive investment you’ll ever make, making it incredibly important to budget well and do your research. You might be surprised to know that appliances aren’t normally included with a house purchase – including the fridge. But there are workarounds you can attempt to get your white goods.
Relying on agents alone may not give you the answers you want to some important questions, such as “should I buy the fridge with this house?”. There are some things to know about this situation if it comes about.
Many Homes On The Market Won’t Include The Fridge
If the home you are interested in purchasing is older or has already been lived in, there’s a good chance the appliances aren’t going to be included in the home. They’re owned by the current homeowners and so most likely they’ll want to bring them to their new home.
There is an exception to this. Integrated appliances are fitted into the kitchen units – usually with a matching cabinet door on them. In this way an integrated fridge is considered ‘fixed’ into the home and normally is included in the sale of the home. It would take a lot of work to take a fridge out of its fixed spot, which could potentially cause damage that the existing owner would have to fix before they move out. But every situation can be different so it’s worth checking with your solicitor.
Some New Homes Will Already Come With A Fridge
If you are purchasing a brand new home, there’s a strong chance that appliances were put in the home as part of the staging process. While you should still read the fine print of any paperwork given to you, the appliances will most likely be included with the home.
Other areas of the home will also be staged with items but these are not normally included in the sale (like living room furniture).
If the fridge isn’t included for some reason, it’s possible to negotiate them into your purchase agreement. This can make the moving in process much easier for first time buyers, as you won’t have to measure the space and find a fridge that fits in your kitchen.
Now this does mean that you’ll probably be paying them off over a longer time period and paying more in interest – but it avoids you having to come up with more funds immediately after purchasing the property.
Fittings And Contents Form
You should ensure that you are provided documentation of what is and isn’t included with the home you are interested in buying. Most likely your solicitor will get the seller’s side to complete a fittings and contents form.
Having documentation that is reviewed and signed by both buyer and seller will make sure there are no surprises when you move into your new home only to find fixtures missing. Which brings us onto a top tip:
Don’t buy food shopping on moving in day until you’ve checked there is a fridge there when you move in!
Know The Warranty For The Fridge
Before you agree to purchase a fridge that comes with a house, be sure to find out the warranty situation.
For many warranties on appliances, they are void once the owner changes, so if you buy a fridge from an existing owner it may mean there is no longer a warranty. If this is the case and the fridge were to break down, you won’t have any coverage for repairs under an existing warranty.
Chances are, the only way a warranty will still exist on a fridge already in a home is if it was a new buy for staging purposes. If this is the case, you will have to ask the estate agent if it can be transferred to you if you purchase it with the house. You may also have to contact the manufacturer to find out what their parameters are. Some manufacturers require you to fill in registration details online to activate a warranty.
If you can’t get a warranty and the fridge looks old, you might have to decide whether or not you want to buy your own new fridge instead.
The good news is that there’s a huge variety of fridges available to buy for every home. We’ve put together a guide below.
The Best Fridges for First Time Buyers
We’ve put together a full fridge buying guide for first time buyers. Unlike other generic fridge guides, our product recommendations are focused on more limited kitchen space for first time buyers.
Best Large Freestanding Fridge
Samsung RB34T602ESA
Freestanding fridges are ideal for first time buyers. It means a home owner can upgrade the fridge without changing the design of the remainder of the kitchen. In short, you can spend money upgrading the fridge and save up for a full kitchen upgrade later.
The Samsung RB34T602ESA (sometimes called RB7300T) fridge freezer is a durable, large fridge available in silver and white. It has 340L of storage capacity, which is much more than typical fridge freezer units.
SpaceMax
The fridge has SpaceMax technology, which makes the internal walls of the fridge thinner. This means you have much more space inside the fridge compared to other fridges that do not have this space saving technology.
No Frost
The fridge has a no frost feature that maintains the temperature even all around the unit. Gone are the days of freezing at the back of the fridge – and gone are the days of having to defrost! This will save you many hours in the future.
Wine Rack
The fridge has a handy wine rack for some cooling. But this wine rack is even bigger than regular wine racks. Most fridge wine racks have a width of 82mm thick, but the Samsung RB34 has a 105mm wine rack – perfect for champagne bottles.
Power Freeze
One of the best features of the Samsung RB34 fridge is the ability to enter a Power Freeze. Power Freeze puts the fridge freezer into a high power mode to cool down the temperature of the fridge when shopping has been loaded in.
Storage
There are other great features to mention about the RB34 fridge. The side doors can carry bottles up to 4 litres in size.
Vacation Mode
The fridge is equipped with a vacation mode. This brings the fridge up to a higher temperature while you are away to reduce energy consumption. Perfect for energy conscious customers.
Warranty
Samsung are currently offering a 5 year warranty on the fridge when purchased. This is great peace and mind knowing that your purchase is protected after you buy it.
Best Medium Freestanding Fridge
Russell Hobbs RH55FF171B
Russell Hobbs have released a classy, black design fridge freezer.
The fridge can hold an impressive 262 litres, split between 187L in the fridge and 75L in the freezer. This is enough for 10 shopping bags of produce in the fridge and 4 bags in the freezer.
Low Frost Freezer
The low frost freezer compartment reduces frost build up over time. This is becoming a key need in recent years, and one you want to take advantage of.
Modern Lighting
The fridge runs LED lighting inside, giving the unit a nice glow when it’s on. It’s also very convenient for seeing the food inside the fridge.
Best Fridge For Modern Style
Hotpoint FFU3D Double Door Fridge
We love the design of the Hotpoint FFU3D double door fridge. It combines the functionality of a double door layout with a narrow width. Many home buyers aren’t able to accommodate a full double door fridge in their kitchen (also called American Fridges).
This fridge is very tall – and it shows in its stats. Total capacity is 436L, being 144L in the fridge and 292L in the freezer.
Functionality
This Hotpoint fridge scores great for functionality. A double door layout means you can see much better inside your fridge. If you’re the kind of person who loads up a fridge fully in one shop, this might be your best way of being able to see all of the items inside.
More Light
Many people find that having a basic fridge door ends up blocking a lot of light and becomes a bit of an inconvenience. Having double doors on your fridge has the big benefit of letting more light in.
Door Alarms
The FFU3D fridge is equipped with door alarms to let you know if any doors are left open. The alarm system also warns you if the fridge temperature increases too high.
Space Requirements
It’s great that this fridge can let more light in. But you need to think carefully about space requirements. If you plan to have your fridge against a corner in your kitchen, the double door feature won’t be as helpful as the movement will be restricted. This fridge is therefore best when placed in the middle of a kitchen wall.
Weight
It’s worth bearing in mind that this unit is on the heavy side, weighing 98kg.
Best Retro Looking Fridge
Amica FKR29653DEB Duck Egg Fridge
The Amica retro fridge combines style in a compact form. This fridge is great for a limited size kitchen.
Many households buy a fridge that’s too big for their home. This leads to space being wasted and high energy costs running the machine.
The Amica duck egg holds a modest 244L, split between 181L for the fridge and 63L for the freezer.
Warranty
At the time of writing, a manufacturer 2 year warranty is provided.
Modern Colour
The Amica fridge stands out in many boring kitchens. When grey is the new style for many new kitchens, it can be welcoming to bring in a vibrant colour.
If you do like the colour of the Amica fridge, we recommend the following extras to go with the same design:
- Cusibox ceramic pan and pot set
- Comfee 800W Microwave
- Green matching kitchen set (toaster, kettle, bread bin and mug trees)
- Wesco mint retro kitchen bin
- Victorinox mint cutlery set
Best Drinks Fridge
Klarstein Beverage Refrigerator
This is a luxury add on for those that have the space for an additional compact fridge. The Klarstein Beverage Refrigerator holds 20 bottles (56L) and is only 30cm in width.
It’s a nice little add on if you’ve got a small gap under the kitchen worktops and want to store a few more drinks for a party or a big dinner.
The unit includes 3 metal inserts to go into the fridge unit for storing the drinks.
There’s also a handy touch screen panel at the front to adjust temperature settings.
Best Fridge Containers
mDesign Deep Storage Trays
Fridges need to be organized! Your fridge will contain all sorts of different food with varying expiration dates.
It’s also good food hygiene to ensure certain categories of food are separated from one another (for example – you don’t want to put raw meat next to fresh vegetables). That’s where food containers come in. They make cleaning the fridge much quicker and easier.
The mDesign deep storage trays have a flat base and cover, which lets you stack multiple sets at once (they come in a set of 6). Each tray also has handle holes to grip the unit.
mDesign have made their trays out of BPA free plastic, a must have when you are storing food inside them.
Best External Fridge Rack
Lemecima Refrigerator Rack
In your first home storage is always an issue. You can never have enough space! And this is even more true for the kitchen.
That’s why Lemecima have released a brilliantly designed 3 level magnetic rack that attaches to the side of a metal fridge without any nails! The bottom level of the rack functions as a holder for paper towels.
As long as the unit is properly attached it can support 30kg of weight. That’s a lot of additional items.
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