Help to buy ISA

@DJMK4, it doesn't matter what day you set up your standing order for, whichever is convenient for you. I think the cut-off date is a set date across all accounts regardless of the bank, so as long as you have a SO to make a payment before that date then that's fine. For safe betting i wouldn't personally have a SO to close to the 25th though.
 
Bit of a bump, any news or titbits from people regarding this? I need to start researching a savings account that can pay the HTB ISA which has some sort of limited access, or basically something I can forget about and let it feed the ISA for X years.
 
Thanks very useful :)

I now have 50 more questions :p. HTB ISA or LISA? Virgin for highest rate or Nationwide for a split ISA? Eek.
 
LISA doesn't exist till next April.

Do you have a lump sum available now? or how much are you able to pay in each month?
 
I don't know much about LISA, but a quick look shows they don't start till Apr 17 and seem the same as the HTB one anyway? (someone might come and explain if there is a difference)

I guess the split ISA is good if you have more than the HTB annual limit to save : ie the total cash ISA limit is what, ~£15k but the HTB limit is ~£4k
 
Yeah I think I will stick with the HTB ISA instead, it suits me and my needs a lot better and it available now.

Am getting a lump soon; can put the £1600 needed upfront for the HTB ISA and pay £200 a month for >3 years.

With minimal research, the Santander 123 looks decent to park the lump sum in.
 
doodah said:
Yeah I think I will stick with the HTB ISA instead
Click to expand...
Aye, don't bother with a split ISA. The rates are poor.
Am getting a lump soon; can put the £1600 needed upfront for the HTB ISA and pay £200 a month for >3 years.

With minimal research, the Santander 123 looks decent to park the lump sum in.
Click to expand...
Depends how big a lump it is. Firstly to offset the £5 monthly fee on the Santander account but also whether it might be worth your while also paying in to a regular saver account to get 5-6%.
 
Around £10k. On further inspection, I might not take advantage of some of the 123's offers so a more traditional one might be better.
 
Freakbro said:
I don't know much about LISA, but a quick look shows they don't start till Apr 17 and seem the same as the HTB one anyway? (someone might come and explain if there is a difference)

I guess the split ISA is good if you have more than the HTB annual limit to save : ie the total cash ISA limit is what, ~£15k but the HTB limit is ~£4k
Click to expand...

My current understanding is...

HTB ISA will remain limited to £200 deposit per month (£2400 per year) after the initial account deposit of up to £1000

LISA can have £4200(?) deposited per year, but I don't know about what limits are in place per month

Normally, nobody over 40 can open a LISA next year. However, 40+s like me with a HTBISA can transfer that HTBISA money into a LISA

Happy to be proven wrong regarding the above.;)
 
If I didn't own a house I'd be all over this because the bonus is so high (£400 after a couple of months) and even in the event that you didn't buy a cheap home, it is still a moderately good savings rate. People seem quick to put the boot in regarding the £250k limit but surely the idea of the scheme is to aid people who are struggling to get on the bottom of the ladder rather than helping people buy in a nice area or a nice property. Yes in some areas £250k may not get you anything, but I would argue that not everywhere should be attainable to first time buyers with modest savings. If someone is trying to buy in an area where the cheapest properties cost over £250k then they have extremely high aspirations for a place to live far beyond what many in modern society would deem achievable aside from people with high income / savings who presumably are not the target audience anyway for government handouts.
 
£250k would get me 2 perfectly adequate houses so naturally I jumped on the HTB ISA :D

Annoyingly I messed up regarding start dates and pay-day so I only got £600 in as a lump sum instead of £1200. £200 going in every month though now so it's going to be a nice bonus come buying day in a couple of years time..
 
Just a word of warning from someone who deals with these from the conveyancing side -they are a nightmare to sort out when it comes to completion and it is (as you would expect!) badly administered.

If you are going to use the funds make sure you get it sorted long before completion!
 
doodah said:
Around £10k. On further inspection, I might not take advantage of some of the 123's offers so a more traditional one might be better.
Click to expand...
The 3% Santander would be ideal to hold the £10k, while gradually transferring it away to a HTB ISA and a regular saver account perhaps. You can get 6% with either HSBC/first direct on £250/300 per month.

Slightly risky (no FSCS), and depending on how soon you might buy a house, but also worth having a skim through the P2P investing thread. Short of financial apocalypse the bigger platforms appear to be solid.
 
Shoza said:
Just a word of warning from someone who deals with these from the conveyancing side -they are a nightmare to sort out when it comes to completion and it is (as you would expect!) badly administered.

If you are going to use the funds make sure you get it sorted long before completion!
Click to expand...

what tips would you give?

Tell your solicitor straight away? Give them all the account details? amount in it currently and the fact it's being topped up by £200 a month?
 
UTmaniac said:
LISA can have £4200(?) deposited per year, but I don't know about what limits are in place per month
Click to expand...

There's no monthly limit on a LISA, just an annual one.

Will look into the LISA after I've used up my HTB ISA this year, although it might work out better for me to increase my pension contributions instead. I'm being allowed to exchange contracts on alternative funds I already have and continue to fund the HTB ISA until near completion later in the year, then the remainder of the deposit will come from the HTB ISA.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
what tips would you give?

Tell your solicitor straight away? Give them all the account details? amount in it currently and the fact it's being topped up by £200 a month?
Click to expand...

I'm in the process of purchasing at the moment. My solicitor wants all of the paperwork (as in the closing letter from the bank) for the HTB ISA prior to exchange.

The chain on our property purchase got sorted last week so I am getting our ISAs closed this week.

Basically I think the sooner you can get the paperwork to your solicitors the better. You wouldn't want to hold up exchange because you need to wait for the HTB ISA paperwork to be sorted.
 
seems to be a lot of faffing about.

what if your closing letter gets "lost in the post" that could delay the process by a month easily.

would you say it's best to close 3-4 weeks before your move in date? meaning you potentially miss out on a months bonus in the process.
 
Just opened an HTB myself, I wanted to start last year but I had already paid into my ISA and I didn't know about split ISA's so I've missed out on a few months :(
 
Started mine in April, have £1,600 in their currently, shame you cant put more in

I am putting the rest in to bonds, I cant be bothered trying to faff about with applying for current account, switching etc, its not worth the hassle for an extra £160 odd worth of interest.

I'm looking to move out April or so next year potentially so its a bit of extra money but im not going to benifit to the max, it will help. If I dont move out next April and its delayed by a few months then I still have a couple of extra months saving.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom