Help to buy ISA

soupy600

Hi

I've just opened a help to buy ISA but after watching the show I now have found out I'm not eligible for the bonus as I've had a mortgage before. Where as my bank told me I was due to not have a mortgage for a few years.

What are my options now?

• Leave the money where it is and just benefit from the interest?
• Can to another saving account/ ISA but which is best?

Thanks in advance for any help

bobobski

I believe when you opened the account you must have signed a declaration that you have never owned a property before, so you have (inadvertently) lied on your application. Call your bank immediately, tell them about the error and ask them to close the account.

soupy600

Thanks for the reply bobobski, I had a meeting with the bank about another matter and asked their adviser about the ISA and was told I was classed as a first time buyer again as it had been X amount of years since having a mortgage. So on this information I went home and opened the account.


But yes as you said I guess I have (inadvertently) lied on my application. Will call in and speak to them as soon as I can. I was also told by the member of staff (who I've lost trust in) If I changed my mind about buying a house I can just close the account and withdraw the money. So even if I'm not eligible for the government bonus surly I can still use the account to save money?

bobobski

soupy600 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply bobobski, I had a meeting with the bank about another matter and asked their adviser about the ISA and was told I was classed as a first time buyer again as it had been X amount of years since having a mortgage. So on this information I went home and opened the account.


But yes as you said I guess I have (inadvertently) lied on my application. Will call in and speak to them as soon as I can. I was also told by the member of staff (who I've lost trust in) If I changed my mind about buying a house I can just close the account and withdraw the money. So even if I'm not eligible for the government bonus surly I can still use the account to save money?

Sadly not - there is no time period since owning a property which refreshes your first time buyer status, and you must be a first time buyer to have a help to buy ISA open. The bank adviser sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about sadly. That won't change where you are now, but from now on you can separate yourself from what he's said and put your money in better places.


You can get 3-5% on quite a chunk of money through opening high interest current accounts and regular savers so unless you have many thousands of pounds and save more than £1k a month, you really don't need a help to buy ISA to match its interest rate anyway.


See here for first time buyer status: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/help-to-buy-ISA.

Kim_13

The leave the account open and save money point is only for those who have never owned a property or part of a property before and who change their mind about buying. Sadly the advisor you spoke to has confused this.

The good news is that the 2% or so interest that is offered by the HTB ISA can be beaten or matched elsewhere, via current accounts and/or regular savers. You may find the MSE guide to how to start saving of interest: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/which-saving-account

If you'd like to get a 25% government bonus on your savings like the HTB would have offered, you can open a Lifetime ISA if you're under 40. As you've had a property before, you can only use it to save for retirement and there would be a 25% penalty for any withdrawls before the age of 60. The only exception to this is terminal illness. It's important to only add money you can afford to lock away, as the penalty works out as losing the bonus earned by the amount withdrawn plus 6.25%.

soupy600

Brilliant great advice thanks guys