Help to buy ISA

donnyrovers91

I just wanted some advice on the Help to buy ISA. My wife and I have just had a baby daughter and with a deposit already saved up I wasn't anticipating seeing a house we really liked but now actually do after 2 viewings.


The seller has stated what fee they will accept.. the only snag is though that and which I am usually very thorough when it comes to money is that I didn't know that you had to have the ISA for a minimum of 3 months to actually earn the bonus.


Does anyone know how long it usually takes to complete a purchase and whether if I opened one up if there would be enough time to start depositing into one and then earn the bonus towards a deposit?




I hope what I've said makes sense!

whatdoyouthink...

every purchase is different so I don't think anyone can give a definitive answer on how long it takes to complete.

To be on the safe side with getting the bonus, I think you'd need to open it at least 4 months before completion. You need it open, wait for a minimum 3 months and add on the time to actually open it, once you've save for 3 months you need to close it and wait for the bank to send you the closing statement, you've got to then get that to the solicitor and give them time to do what they've got to do to claim the bonus for you...

marliepanda

Is it worth delaying your house buying/annoying your seller for 3/4 months for the sake of £400?

Squirtle17

I agree with the above, the maximum bonus you are going to be able to get from saving in that timeframe is £400, which definitely isn't worth missing out on a house you like for.

If you are reliant on a £400 bonus to actually afford the house then I would reevaluate your budget.

marliepanda

Squirtle17 wrote: »

I agree with the above, the maximum bonus you are going to be able to get from saving in that timeframe is £400, which definitely isn't worth missing out on a house you like for.

If you are reliant on a £400 bonus to actually afford the house then I would reevaluate your budget.

Or, I guess, £800 if both he and wife open one, but again, I wouldnt be asking the sellers of a house I really wanted to wait 3/4 months.

madteapot

There is no rule of minimum three calendar months for claiming HTB ISA bonus the requirement is to have atleast £1600 saved in the HTB ISA account before any bonus can be claimed.

So if you wanted you could open the account on the last day of month to make £1200 deposit (£1000 opening + £200 for that month) then make £200 deposit on the next month and another £200 on the first day of the following. That makes £1600 in the account and as soon as the funds are clear you could close the account and request closing statement for the solicitor to claim the bonus. The bonus needs to be claimed before completion but after exchange only. If you were to get the account opened on September and manage to make the £1200 deposit the earliest you could close and claim bonus is on 2nd of November.

If you are yet to start mortgage application and conveyancing process for the purchase I would go for it. You have 7 weeks to get everything sorted and in the house buying process that is normal time frame. In the event that all other processes complete before you manage to get £1600 in the account and want to exchange you are allow to close and withdraw the funds without any penalty from HTB ISA.

Just keep in mind that the money in HTB ISA cannot be used for initial deposit i.e. for exchange so you must have enough money to cover the exchange deposit (usually 10% in some cases 5%).