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Help to Buy ISA guide
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Halifax are apparently withdrawing their 4% rate for new applicants from tomorrow so anyone looking to secure this rate would need to act quickly!
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/54549650 -
Hi,
I've previously had a shared ownership apartment which I've now sold. I'm currently living with my mother to save for a house of my own.
Would I be entitled to apply for a first time buyers ISA?
Many Thanks0 -
Victoria_K wrote: »Hi,
I've previously had a shared ownership apartment which I've now sold. I'm currently living with my mother to save for a house of my own.
Would I be entitled to apply for a first time buyers ISA?
Many Thanks0 -
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly!
Victoria0 -
Neilbanyard wrote: »Hi guys. I spoke to virgin money with regards to a help to buy isa and they said it would be credit checked before they open the account. I guess I should just give it a go and see what happens. Just can't afford anymore bad stuff on my credit file. My bank RBS were also very cautious I'm opening a new account for me due to the current state of my credit file. Thanks
They will just do a soft search to prove who you say you are and live at that address. It's for money laundering - it's not a full credit check,
Your Credit worthiness should not affect your ability to open a savings account or a HTB isa. So start saving - you have until 2030 to claim the bonus so loads of time to improve your credit rating for a mortgage.0 -
I've read lots on this thread and I can't really figure out what is possible in my situation.
I (foolishly) didn't open a new ISA last year 14/15 to transfer my santander ISA to (£30k+). I need to get this earning more interest than it is (think it is 0.75%) but I think if i open a new cash ISA now to transfer this money to, this will preclude me from opening a HTB ISA, which I would like to start saving into.
I 'think' a split ISA with nationwide is going to be my best bet 2%/1.4% right?
The only other way I can think of is to take money out of the cash ISA, to drip feed multiple regular savers (that don't exist yet) - but then i'm losing the tax free status of this money long-term.
I'm not sure what to do, quite confusing. I've already got two santander 123 accounts maxed also.
Thanks in advance0 -
ISA transfers do not count as new subscriptions. Therefore you could transfer your existing ISA to any other ISA provider that processes a transfer without requiring any new deposit.
You could certainly also transfer to a split ISA provider like Nationwide.
You would almost certainly get better interest on your £30K in current accounts / regular savings accounts. If you are keen to maintain the ISA wrapper for the £30K, read up about flexible ISAs.0 -
ISA transfers do not count as new subscriptions. Therefore you could transfer your existing ISA to any other ISA provider that processes a transfer without requiring any new deposit.
You could certainly also transfer to a split ISA provider like Nationwide.
You would almost certainly get better interest on your £30K in current accounts / regular savings accounts. If you are keen to maintain the ISA wrapper for the £30K, read up about flexible ISAs.
So you think i can transfer my ISA to a new ISA (for better interest) then also open a HTB ISA, to regularly save into? Both in the same tax year - I am essentially opening two ISA's, albeit one is taking previous year subscriptions and I won't be paying anything into it.0 -
amanwithaplan wrote: »So you think i can transfer my ISA to a new ISA (for better interest) then also open a HTB ISA, to regularly save into? Both in the same tax year - I am essentially opening two ISA's, albeit one is taking previous year subscriptions and I won't be paying anything into it.0
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FAO MoneySavingExpert: potentially incorrect article
In point 5 of the article, it states "You can use it with any mortgage type, it DOESN'T have to be a help to buy mortgage (though it can be)" and indeed everywhere else the HTB ISA is discussed that I've seen carries this same assertion.
Unfortunately, the two (HTB ISA/HTB equity loan) appear to be incompatible.
When you do the HTB Equity Loan (which must be for new builds and hence there's a high likelihood of buying offplan), you have to hand over the 5% deposit at exchange. Housebuilders typically want this within a month of reservation and as much as six months ahead of the construction finished/completion date.
However, point 9 of the article states "However, you can only use the bonus for your mortgage deposit, not your home deposit. What this means in practice is that the Government bonus can't be used toward the deposit you pay to the seller when you exchange contracts, it can only be used at completion".
So, this has two direct implications: 1) that it is not possible to use the HTB ISA government bonus towards the 5% deposit requirement of the HTB equity loan scheme; and 2) that, since there is no deposit left to pay on the HTB equity loan scheme at completion, there is nothing to put the HTB ISA government bonus towards, so presumably it will be lost???
My questions therefore are:
i) are the facts of the article wrong or is this a true incompatibility between the two schemes?
ii) have I misunderstood something which resolves the potential clash??
iii) has anyone thought of/looked into this before and is there a resolution???
Thanks Martin0
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