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Santander 123 or Help to Buy ISA?

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Hi, I'm trying to save a few hundred a month with the hope of one day buying somewhere to live in London, this is unlikely to be in the next 18 months.

I can save around 500 a month, as much as 800 at a stretch.

Been reading the guides on here this morning and getting confused, as per.

Is it better for me to get a Santander 123 account now, put all my savings in (have 4k in 2 TSB accounts and another 3 or so in the awful Barclays esaving thing) that and live with or wait until December to open the HTB ISA?

If I open the HTB ISA can I carry on paying in that and then open the 123 account in the new tax year?

Should I keep the TSB accounts or move everything into one place?

Is there any scenario where I could pay the £200 a month into the HTB ISA and get the £50 credit and pay the other £300-500 a month into the Santander 123 and still benefit?

Comments

  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 37,156 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Eric999 wrote: »
    Hi, I'm trying to save a few hundred a month with the hope of one day buying somewhere to live in London, this is unlikely to be in the next 18 months.

    I can save around 500 a month, as much as 800 at a stretch.
    Why not open one or more regular savings accounts for your non-HTB money?
  • Eric999
    Eric999 Posts: 19 Forumite
    eskbanker wrote: »
    Why not open one or more regular savings accounts for your non-HTB money?

    But still get the HTB ISA?
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Yes..............................
  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 27,223 Forumite
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    It's impossible to make any decision about HTB ISAs until some actually materialise with precise T&Cs. It may be the case that the most effective way to use them is to make use of regular savers opened a short time before the end of this tax year - the proceeds of these could be put into an HTB ISA just before the end of the tax year, to minimise the amount of time the money spends earning a (likely) derisory rate of interest within the ISA.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Agree, we need to see the details of the actual implementation but the original announcement only allows for an initial deposit of max £1,000 and subsequent deposits of max £200 a month. It is therefore not likely that tipping in a year-end lump sum saved up in a Regular Saver, or anywhere else for that matter, would be a good strategy.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/413899/Help_to_Buy_ISA_Guidance.pdf

    Shouldn't be very long now before we see the publication of some actual T&Cs.
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