Lifetime ISAs guide

Ithilien

My partner and I will be buying a new build that falls within the £450K max price. The property is likely to be released in December 2017, requiring exchange 28 days later (so sometime in January 2018; i.e. BEFORE the 1 year minimum). As the house will take 6-8 months to be built, completion will only be sometime between June-August 2018 though, i.e. AFTER we'll have had the LISA for a year.

In the MSE LISAs article it states the funds will be available on exchange, with completion required within 90 days. That definitely won't be the case for us. Can we withdraw the funds closer to completion so that a) we're in the 90 days period and b) we'll have had the LISA for over a year so we get the 25% bonus?

masonic

Ithilien wrote: »

In the MSE LISAs article it states the funds will be available on exchange, with completion required within 90 days. That definitely won't be the case for us. Can we withdraw the funds closer to completion so that a) we're in the 90 days period and b) we'll have had the LISA for over a year so we get the 25% bonus?

I think you'll need to wait for the rules to be finalised and published to get a clearer view about the specific conditions of the LISA.

eimear114

Is there a minimum period of time you must live in a house purchased with a lifetime ISA? I'm 23 and I want to get on the property ladder and think the returns on a lifetime ISA are excellent for my needs as I could save £4000 a year. However, I would like to move home to Ireland one day which would involve selling my house and getting a new mortgage over there. Does that breach the terms of the ISA? I just can't seem to find the answer to this question in black and white and lord knows the education system failed to teach us this stuff!

masonic

eimear114 wrote: »

Is there a minimum period of time you must live in a house purchased with a lifetime ISA?

There isn't a specific minimum length of time you need to live there. With the cost of buying and selling the property, it wouldn't normally make economic sense to buy and sell within a very short timeframe. The terms are more focused on stopping people renting out a house they recently bought with the assistance of the scheme.

P1Fanatic

I have a feeling I am going to miss the boat on these with them being "launched" on April 6th and my 40th birthday being less than two weeks later on April 15th. Has anyone seen an update from any bank or building society that they will be offereing LISA's as I will need to move fast.

ngarner

Hi,

This wasn't made clear on the LISA article.

If you have had a HTB ISA and used it (i.e. you don't have one anymore). Can you still open a LISA and accrue benefits as normal?

Thanks,
NGarner

King_Of_Fools

P1Fanatic wrote: »

I have a feeling I am going to miss the boat on these with them being "launched" on April 6th and my 40th birthday being less than two weeks later on April 15th. Has anyone seen an update from any bank or building society that they will be offereing LISA's as I will need to move fast.

Savers may be unable to open Lifetime Isas this year because the Treasury has failed to convince banks to offer the accounts.

In an embarrassing admission, officials told Money Mail that not a single firm is on track to launch the Government's new savings deal for the under 40s in April.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-4268846/Why-NO-bank-offer-Lifetime-Isa.html

masonic

P1Fanatic wrote: »

I have a feeling I am going to miss the boat on these with them being "launched" on April 6th and my 40th birthday being less than two weeks later on April 15th. Has anyone seen an update from any bank or building society that they will be offereing LISA's as I will need to move fast.

If Hargreaves Lansdown are planning to offer from April 6th, then they are probably your best bet. I have no doubt they'll have a very efficient opening process. You probably won't get any interest, but there's no reason to think you'd be forced to buy any investments with the money you pay in.

ngarner wrote: »

This wasn't made clear on the LISA article.

If you have had a HTB ISA and used it (i.e. you don't have one anymore). Can you still open a LISA and accrue benefits as normal?

Yes, the LISA is for anyone under 40.

rebeccajade0204

Is this correct?

If I have saved £3600 in HTB ISA during 2016/17, and transfer my money before April 18 to a LISA, and then save the max £4000 (max for 17/18 tax year), will I get gov bonus of £1,900? (7,600 total savings). Then if I wanted to buy after April 2018, would I be able to put in another £4000 (18/19 tax year max) and benefit from a total years gov bonus of £1000? as the bonus after the first year, goes from yearly to monthly interest?

Dates:
16/17 April - open H2B with years max £3600
Transfer during April 2017 to LISA
April 2017/18 - Add additional years max savings to LISA- £4000
April 2017/19 - Add another additional years max savings to LISA - £4000

Total Savings before bonus: £11,600
Total Gov bonus: ????? £3,500 ????? if buying between may 2018 / april 19

Yurona

Hi,
I'll be 40 end of April, so will need to move fast. i would prefer a cash LISA, but it doesn't look as if there will be any on the market in time. Does anybody know if it will be possible to transfer a shares/investments LISA into a cash one later one ( which will be after I've turned 40)? 25% extra is a lot of money, so would hate to miss it. I intend to use it as extra for retirement, additional to my pension ( not a first time buyer anymore).