MSE News: Savings loophole allows under-35s to earn 5%

chaotic_j

I opened one of these accounts back in January and now have £5900 in it. However I'm buying a house wholly in cash, where do I stand regarding this account?

I won't have a mortgage but seeing as I will own a property, I won't be a first time buyer any more.

Do I let Santander know before completion? Or do I wait until after completion? If I did wait until after completion then tell them I've bought a house, would they be able to withold interest?

In fact I'm wondering how Santander would know I wasn't a first time buyer unless I told them? Rather confused..

someone

@chaotic_j - I think the condition of been a 'first time buyer' is only for opening the account not holding one

gt94sss2

Does anyone know what the difference is between this page which quotes 5.5% for the First Home Saver (Special Issue One) account and this one which quotes 5% - apart from the Santander domain being different?

Can we get 5.5% if we open one of these an account in a branch?

Thanks
Sunil

apt

The page that quotes 5.5% is out of date.

Nessie23

Zelie wrote: »

Could someone clarify what these terms mean?

The website says that "all we ask you to do is have a mortgage interview up to 90 days before you come to close the account." which is fair enough but it also says "Instant access to your First Home Saver via branch. Please note there are no partial withdrawals allowed on this account. You can access your funds at any time but will need to close your account. To close your account you will need to bring in two forms of ID plus the validation checklist that you were given on account opening."

To my mind that means it's not instant access. Does this mean that if you suddenly need a withdrawal in a hurry (i.e. for a deposit) they can legitimately not pay the interest owed on the account because you haven't had the interview within the 90 days before that?

Hi Zelie,

My understanding of this rules is that you need to have a mortgage interview prior to closing the account, however as soon as you have had the mortgage interview you should be able to instantly close the account. So provided there is a free mortgage advisor on the day and you have the two forms of ID, in theory you could close the account there and then.

The way I read the 90 days is that you could have a mortgage interview say today, but if you could ask for the account to be closed on up to 90 days after the interview.

It is still worth checking with the local branch.

hugheskevi

I had this account, closed in December.

Without giving any sort of notice, I went into my local branch with ID and said that I would like to close the account, and would be happy to have a mortgage interview if they wished, but it would be a waste of their time as I already knew exactly which mortgage I was going to take, and it wasn't from Santander.

They didn't bother with an interview, just closed the account there and then, giving me a cheque for the total balance.

cashbackproblems

I opened this account yesterday and the great thing about it is that if you add above £300 one month, for THAT MONTH ONLY you get basically no interest but they following month you have a much higher amount in there rather than the max £300 per month.

I am looking to get a mortgage within 2yrs and Santander (along with Natwest)
are currently offering the best mortgages to FTB e.g 90% mortgage and 4/5x salary.

chaotic_j

someone wrote: »

@chaotic_j - I think the condition of been a 'first time buyer' is only for opening the account not holding one

Thanks for that, I've looked at the T&C's and I can see nothing about what happens if you're no longer a FTB after opening the account, just the eligibility details as you say.

I'll keep the account then and use it as a regular saver/drip feed it for as long as the rate stays at a good level cheers!

chaotic_j

cashbackproblems wrote: »

I opened this account yesterday and the great thing about it is that if you add above £300 one month, for THAT MONTH ONLY you get basically no interest but they following month you have a much higher amount in there rather than the max £300 per month.

Yeah but the T&C's also say that if you do that then they reserve the right to close your account or something along those lines..

Have you paid in more than £300 yet? If you intend to do so I'd be very interested to hear how much you overpaid and whether or not they closed your account..

hmax

Hi, I was just wondering if someone could give some advice regarding this account. I am currently a student (University) and I'm looking at this account as an alternative to an ISA, seeing as I am a student I assume that interest on this account will be tax free. I will be depositing the full £5000 deposit and will be able to meet the £300 max deposit monthly would people advise taking advantage of this higher interest rate versus depositing the max in an ISA and having a smaller amount to open one of these accounts with? Thank you for your help.