Lifetime ISAs guide

jp066

Hi,

Has anyone used their Skipton Lifetime ISA for a house purchase recently?

We are currently coming up to the point of exchange and the declarations have been sent off to Skipton. I have spoken to them to confirm whether they have received it which they have and have asked when to expect the money to be transferred to our solicitors. They have said that they will transfer it on the completion date that was written on conveyancer declaration, however I was of the understanding that it will be within 30 days of the form being received and I need it transferred ready for exchange of contracts. Surely they need to make sure its with our solicitors before the completion date written on the form so we can exchange beforehand.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

jp066

Further to what I've said above, seems it depends who you speak to, but I spoke to another person at Skipton this morning that has said they have fast tracked our application for us and will have it sent through to our solicitors by Friday.

There is a 'completion date' section on the conveyancers decelerations form and Skipton aim to have the money sent to the solicitors with 2 days of that date. However if you are required to pay your deposit at exchange (which I assumed all transactions required?) you'd need to let them know.

I'll post a full timeline of our process once I know they have received our deposit to give people an idea of how long this takes, as I could only see two examples in this thread as these ISAs are still pretty new.

Alexland

jp066 wrote: »

However if you are required to pay your deposit at exchange (which I assumed all transactions required?) you'd need to let them know.

Sometimes no exchange deposit is required for example if you exchange and complete on the same day. Others might fund their exchange deposit from other savings and use the LISA at completion.

Alex

jp066

So ours:

05/11 - Declarations sent to Skipton
07/11 - Skipton received declarations
12/11 - Documents digitally signed and returned
14/11 - Money transferred from our ISAs to solicitors

Very quick turn around from Skipton, which has helped us greatly.

Alexland

Thanks I think the Skipton guidance of planning for 30 days includes some padding for the cases where there are unexpected issues or errors. Glad to hear your withdrawal went smoothly.

justinmk

Hi all,


We're getting close to completing on our house purchase using mine and my partner's Skipton LISA.


I've had the bill from the solicitors and they are charging a total of £150 for LISA admin.


I was thinking there was a limit on solicitor's fees of £50 per person with the Lifetime ISA but after having a search around conveyancer technical guidance I couldn't see any mention of it.


Is anyone aware of limit's on solicitor's fees for Lifetime ISA withdrawals?






Thanks in advance for your help and hopefully this will clarify for others too




Justin

Alexland

There is no limit on solicitor costs for LISA withdrawals but under the HTB ISA it was capped at £50+vat. At £75 (inc vat?) per LISA your solicitor sounds a bit more expensive. Did you tell them you were using LISAs before they generated their initial quote for the work? If so you shouldn't be charged more than you agreed.

Alex

Glynino

I transferred my Help to Buy ISA into a LISA because living in Surrey I would likely be buying a property above the Help to Buy threshold. The opportunity to buy a property came up sooner than anticipated but because I had not had the LISA for over a year, I had to pay back the interest and a penalty fee. What was left was used towards a deposit on a flat. Is there any way I can recover the interest as the money was initially held in a Help to Buy ISA?

masonic

Glynino wrote: »

I transferred my Help to Buy ISA into a LISA because living in Surrey I would likely be buying a property above the Help to Buy threshold. The opportunity to buy a property came up sooner than anticipated but because I had not had the LISA for over a year, I had to pay back the interest and a penalty fee. What was left was used towards a deposit on a flat. Is there any way I can recover the interest as the money was initially held in a Help to Buy ISA?

There is a single charge of 25% of the amount withdrawn when you make a withdrawal from a LISA. This cancels out the 25% bonus and leaves an additional charge of 6.25% on the balance withdrawn (including interest). So it is just part of the penalty fee.

playz28

I will be reserving a property with Barratt Homes next week. Me and my partner have our deposits with HL in their LISA with all the funds in cash. The house is a new build and will be finished to move in by June 2019. I recall reading that using a LISA the house purchase needs to be completed within 3 months.

Has anyone used LISA funds for the exchange deposit on a new build? Can our solicitor keep applying for extensions which extends the 3 month period to 6 months between exchange and completion?