Help to Buy ISA guide

ARCOOMBS

I set up a Santander Help to Buy ISA originally receiving 4% interest. I noticed Santander now only offer 1.5% when opening a new account. Am I still receiving the 4% or am I now receiving 1.5%? I have not received a letter stating any change in the rates I'm receiving. Santanders interest rate finder says 4% on there however how do I know if my Help to Buy ISA is Issue 1, 2 or 3?

Thanks.

eskbanker

ARCOOMBS wrote: »

how do I know if my Help to Buy ISA is Issue 1, 2 or 3?

Paperwork from when you opened the account or online banking should specify, but the rate drop from 4% was on 23 May so if you opened before that then you should still be receiving 4% unless you were notified of a rate reduction - I believe their rate drops applied to new customers rather than existing ones. Send them a secure message to be 100% sure....

slinga

http://blog.moneyfarm.com/en/isas/death-cash-isa/?utm_source=outbrain.com&utm_medium=content&utm_content=isa&utm_campaign=uk_awareness

Has this been posted.

I've made a few posts over the years about cash ISAs but this may be the last.

Porky_Pete

Hi,
If I open a Help to Buy ISA is the limit £2,400 per tax year and does that mean I can open a new one after 6th of April with £1,200 and add another £200 p.m. as thinking of buying a house in June or is it from the date you opened the account... Thanks in advance for your help

Pound

I made a £200 deposit on the day I opened the account, 20 Jul. I made my next payment on 30 Aug by Standing Order.

Have I missed a month by doing this, ie. does the ISA month start in the middle of the month?

eskbanker

Porky_Pete wrote: »

Hi,
If I open a Help to Buy ISA is the limit £2,400 per tax year and does that mean I can open a new one after 6th of April with £1,200 and add another £200 p.m. as thinking of buying a house in June or is it from the date you opened the account... Thanks in advance for your help

The limit isn't based on tax years, it's a simple £200 per month, plus an extra one-off £1,000 in the first month (once only, not once per tax year if that's what you were suggesting).

eskbanker

Pound wrote: »

I made a £200 deposit on the day I opened the account, 20 Jul. I made my next payment on 30 Aug by Standing Order.

Have I missed a month by doing this, ie. does the ISA month start in the middle of the month?

It's calendar months (see https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq/#009a24ea-e1f7-648f-8ce9-ff0000ad17aa), so you've successfully made your July and August contributions (although missed the opportunity to pay an extra one-off £1,000 in the first month) and have another 12 days to make your September one.

JessicaRoberts

Hi,

My husband and I have recently moved in with his parents to save money to buy our first house. We can afford to save between £500/£600 each a month. I thought about doing a help to buy ISA in both our names but then not sure where to put the remainder of our savings? Should I do the split ISA?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Many Thanks
Jess

eskbanker

JessicaRoberts wrote: »

My husband and I have recently moved in with his parents to save money to buy our first house. We can afford to save between £500/£600 each a month. I thought about doing a help to buy ISA in both our names but then not sure where to put the remainder of our savings? Should I do the split ISA?

It certainly makes sense to open an HTB ISA each, but non-HTB cash ISAs are unlikely to be best for the rest given the poor rates on offer - investigate regular savings accounts and/or high-interest current accounts, see http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/which-saving-account for further details.

Gwinike

Hi,

I have a question. I have a HTB ISA from December 2015 and my husband has got one as well. We are planning to buy a house in December this year. We would get 2000 Pounds alltogether as 25% from the State as bonus on our savings. Can we use this money to pay the solicitors or not? Can we put this money as deposit? They say it is payable upon completion, so you can't use it with your purchase. Is it true? So we can't even count with that 2000 Pounds?

Thank you, Monika