Best Bank Account for House Deposit Savings - First Time Buyers

iloveshopping93

Hi all, I am pretty new to this and since I have been 18 have always banked with Lloyds TSB/Lloyds Bank.

I have seen the following bank account and this looks pretty good:
http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/savings/save-to-buy-isa/features-and-benefits

After reading through the T&C's I came across this:
If you have not applied for the Save to Buy mortgage on or before the third anniversary of opening the Account or you have completed the Save to Buy mortgage and the Account is still open on the third anniversary the Account will automatically convert to a Nationwide CashBuilder account or equivalent instant access account.

I am hoping between two of us that we can save up to 13k. The original aim was 4-5 years but this account limits us to 3 years to complete with the mortgage to still be available.

Could anybody shed some light on the best action to take? Is it worth saving in my current ISA for the first couple of years and then transferring this over? (Never done this before, so not sure how easy a transfer is).

Alternatively, are there similar banks and savings accounts tailored to first time buyers?

Any help much appreciated.

Joe_Bloggs

@iloveshopping93
There is little point in saving at a low interest rate when you have debts at a higher interest rate. The 2% Nationwide save to buy ISA is easily beaten by the TSB classic plus :-

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts#tsb

It pays interest of 5% on £1 to £2000 so that is a net rate of 4% after basic rate tax. You do not need to switch an account to get this and do not need to move direct debits.

You cannot afford to have a bad credit record so check your credit files before applying for new bank accounts /mortgage. I use noddle as it is free.
J_B.