Life time isa

Coul0068

Hi all. This is my first post so please go easy!

My current situation is the following.
I am married.
25 year mortgage.
I have had my mortgage now for four years and I am on a 10 year fixed interest rate.
My wife is not on the mortgage or the house deeds.

I have a goal of paying my mortgage off early, which I believe is achievable.

My question is could my wife save into a lifetime isa for the next 6 years then use the lifetime isa and the 25% bounus towards buying a share of my property? Becoming a Tennant in common? Perhaps 50%?

In a similar scenario could she perhaps own 80% of the property so as I can release equity from the property.....I know this would involve a longer mortgage but I am just curious as it would effect how much I need to invest into the lifetime isa!

As some have probably guessed by this point my mortgage is very small 50k. By the time my 10 year fix is over I will owe 38k. My goal would be to have 28k in the stocks and shares isa in 6 years! Then only leave a 10k mortgage for my wife to pay!

Many thanks in advance.

eskbanker

The view usually expressed on the ISA board is that even where one half of a married couple isn't on the deeds or mortgage of a property, the fact that they're married means that they have a legal interest in the property as a marital asset, and are therefore ineligible to be considered a first time buyer by the government schemes.

Coul0068

Would this also prevent my wife from buying the entire property from me?

eskbanker

Coul0068 wrote: »

Would this also prevent my wife from buying the entire property from me?

Nothing prevents her from doing that (assuming you wanted to sell!), but she still wouldn't be a first time buyer and so wouldn't be able to take advantage of the relevant LISA provisions to obtain a government subsidy towards this....

Coul0068

So the only option I really have is to buy another property with wife so that she can use her life time isa and still get the benefit of the bounus?

masonic

Coul0068 wrote: »

So the only option I really have is to buy another property with wife so that she can use her life time isa and still get the benefit of the bounus?

The only option you really have is to find a bit on the side who is a first time buyer and jointly buy a property with her using her LISA. Just don't marry her like you did with the first one. (you will probably find out the extent to which your existing wife has a legal interest in your current property as a result of following this course of action)

eskbanker

Coul0068 wrote: »

So the only option I really have is to buy another property with wife so that she can use her life time isa and still get the benefit of the bounus?

Can you really not understand this?

Q1: Can my wife use a LISA to buy part of my property?
A: No, she's not a first time buyer.
Q2: Can my wife use a LISA to buy all of my property?
A: No, she's not a first time buyer.
Q3: Can my wife use a LISA to buy a different property?

Is it really a surprise that the answer is still: No, she's not a first time buyer?

Coul0068

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Q My wife and I are both about 50. When we met 20-plus years ago she had already bought a house which I moved into. We have decided now that we want to move and have started looking for property.
My questions are: am I classed as a first-time buyer, having never been named on a mortgage or deeds, and would I be able to start a help-to-buy Isa to save a bit of the conveyancing fees?

In the words of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), ‘“to count as a first-time buyer, a purchaser must not, either alone or with others, have previously acquired a major interest in a dwelling or an equivalent interest in land situated anywhere in the world”. So, as long as you have never owned property, that makes you a first-time buyer but definitely not your wife. As a first-time buyer, you would be eligible to take out a help-to-buy Isa which earns you a government bonus of 25% on savings of up to £12,000.
Taken from the guardian

According to this website and many other sources she is deemed as a FTB.

And if you had not tried to patronise me I wouldn’t have given any insult!understand?

masonic

I'm aware of the Guardian article and other sources of incorrect information. If you read the comments you'll see there are plenty pointing out the error made by the journalist.

If your property was bought by you before your marriage and has been lived in as the marital home since you got married, then it would be considered a marital asset. The Individual Savings Account (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2017 define a "residential property owner" as:

"an individual who owns as sole or joint owner an interest in residential property (including a legal interest in land acquired under the terms of a regulated home purchase plan or a shared ownership arrangement) which is—
(a) in England or Wales—
(i) freehold;
(ii) leasehold, where the lease was originally granted for a term certain exceeding 21 years; or
(iii) commonhold;"
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2017/9780111154618

It does not place any limitations on how that "interest in residential property" was acquired, so it could include people who actually go out and buy a property themselves, those who buy a share in a property from someone else, those who inherit a property, or even those who acquire a legal interest in a home by way of marriage or civil partnership.

If you're not satisfied of the above, then your only option is to get some regulated legal advice from a solicitor as to your wife's eligibility. A solicitor will be able to take all of your personal circumstances into account, and provide you with a written opinion, which, if wrong, would entitle you to redress if you complain about the bad advice you've received. Whereas anything written in a newspaper or discussion forum cannot be relied on should you be pursued by HMRC or HM Treasury for making a false declaration.

Throwing insults at people who are patiently trying to answer your question is pretty bad form, don't you think?

Oh, so that insult was directed at me and not eskbanker? I thought my suggestion was the best piece of advice you could be given in your circumstances.

eskbanker

Perhaps my post was a bit heavy on the sarcasm, especially to a newbie who'd specifically asked for posters to 'go easy', so I'm happy to apologise for the tone, but to be honest still stand by the underlying message.

So, let's stick to discussing the actual matter in hand....

grnglide

and would I be able to start a help-to-buy Isa to save a bit of the conveyancing fees?

Is it not too late to open an HTB ISA so the question as to first time buyer eligiblity is now moot as the poster can it open a LISA either as over 40.