Help to Buy ISA guide

MichaelMcM

I’m baffled by all this. I can save £100+ a week. Not a clue where to start though. Looking to save my deposit for my first house over the next 18 months but don’t know where to put the money.

eskbanker

MichaelMcM wrote: »

I’m baffled by all this. I can save £100+ a week. Not a clue where to start though. Looking to save my deposit for my first house over the next 18 months but don’t know where to put the money.

Fortunately MSE has just the thing for you, a helpful article titled 'How to Start Saving'!

Chances are that the best answer for you will be a Lifetime ISA, into which you can pay in up to £12K over that 18 month period (if you can phase it just right across tax years), which the government will top up to £15K. Although you've posted on the Help to Buy ISA thread, this is less suited to your situation as you could only get about £4600 into it over the same period....

gaelimansell

I want to give my disabled son some money per month to help prepare him to cope more independently in the future and give a boost to his financial security. Does having a Help to Buy ISA affect my son's ability to claim benefits? He is on ESA and DLA and currently Housing Benefit. Would he be better off getting the Pension ISA? Thanks.

peterjmay

eskbanker wrote: »

To me the most obvious way forward is for her to finish off the attempted late bonus claim - if it comes off then great but if not, then find out what she's prepared to do about your financial loss. If she accepts liability then she should compensate you accordingly but if not then you'll need to see what a complaint to the firm will achieve. Bear in mind that when you're up against qualified solicitors you need to have a decent argument lined up....

Yes you think that would be the most obvious and easy thing to do. It just seems like if you mis understand the slightest thing in the complex rules you get penalised. Its a massive con if you ask me. Why on earth cant she just refund me the amount my bonus will be from the fees i have already paid her. :mad:

eskbanker

gaelimansell wrote: »

I want to give my disabled son some money per month to help prepare him to cope more independently in the future and give a boost to his financial security. Does having a Help to Buy ISA affect my son's ability to claim benefits? He is on ESA and DLA and currently Housing Benefit. Would he be better off getting the Pension ISA? Thanks.

It'll depend on the total value of his savings but as I understand it the threshold is £16K. Some benefits are means tested while others aren't but I don't know the full picture - you'll get better information if you post over on the benefits board.

eskbanker

peterjmay wrote: »

Yes you think that would be the most obvious and easy thing to do. It just seems like if you mis understand the slightest thing in the complex rules you get penalised. Its a massive con if you ask me. Why on earth cant she just refund me the amount my bonus will be from the fees i have already paid her. :mad:

If she is unable to secure the bonus then that would obviously leave her out of pocket - you'll doubtless see that as her problem not yours, but she's unlikely to agree!

It really isn't a hugely complex scheme, and certainly isn't a 'massive con' - as I posted before it's not unreasonable for you to expect your conveyancer to understand all the requirements and guide a first-timer through it, but equally it would have been worth your while reading up a bit about what you needed to do to qualify for the free government money....

peterjmay

eskbanker wrote: »

If she is unable to secure the bonus then that would obviously leave her out of pocket - you'll doubtless see that as her problem not yours, but she's unlikely to agree!

It really isn't a hugely complex scheme, and certainly isn't a 'massive con' - as I posted before it's not unreasonable for you to expect your conveyancer to understand all the requirements and guide a first-timer through it, but equally it would have been worth your while reading up a bit about what you needed to do to qualify for the free government money....

well i am paying for her services and guidance arent i. i dont see why the treasury should deny her or me the money even if it is late if i meet all the criteria which i do. Being late by one day is unfair.

eskbanker

peterjmay wrote: »

well i am paying for her services and guidance arent i. i dont see why the treasury should deny her or me the money even if it is late if i meet all the criteria which i do. Being late by one day is unfair.

We're going round in circles here - if it isn't possible to obtain the bonus, by virtue of the delayed application, then by all means argue your case with your conveyancer, on the basis that she failed to advise you adequately, but there's no point in getting all indignant about the rules of the scheme; they are what they are. You could sound off to your local MP I suppose, but don't be under any illusion that it's going to make any difference....

masonic

peterjmay wrote: »

well i am paying for her services and guidance arent i.

You both had responsibilities. We've spent a lot of time discussing her responsibilities. Your responsibility was to provide her with a closure letter from your HTB ISA well before completion - did you do that? Based on your earlier responses you did not. It would have really helped your case if you did.

It is pointed out in the guidance for eligible conveyancers that providing information about the HTB ISA scheme to clients is not considered a regulated activity, so they are not prohibited from doing so. However, they are not under any obligation to tell you what to do if you don't ask. Did you ask when you should close your HTB ISA?

You need to accept you share responsibility for this outcome.

i dont see why the treasury should deny her or me the money even if it is late if i meet all the criteria which i do. Being late by one day is unfair.

You don't meet all the criteria. You used to meet the criteria, but you stopped meeting one of them the day you completed on a property purchase, and the test of whether or not you meet the criteria is applied when the Treasury review your application - which they may not have done yet.

margaretx9

eskbanker wrote: »

It'll depend on the total value of his savings but as I understand it the threshold is £16K. Some benefits are means tested while others aren't but I don't know the full picture - you'll get better information if you post over on the benefits board.

Housing benefit and council tax benefit is scaled back though I think once you reach £8k and lower depending on your local CTS scheme (£10k for pensioners) - although it would take 3 to 4 years for a help to buy isa to reach that balance.