What happens now? FTB and skipton lisa deposit.

gboy25

Hello all,
So I'm a FTB and I sort of knew what was going on in the buying process until now. 
I have a mortgage, the legal searches are back, I've had a homebuyers survey and I've signed the contract. The seller has a rented property lined up and is more or less already moving into that and out of my new house, and is desperate for a quick completion. We have not exchanged contracts yet.
I have a LISA account with the deposit in, with skipton, and I've gave the solicitor my form to release the funds. As far as I know they have also signed their conveyancer form and submitted it. (Although this is where my knowledge gets a bit sketchy)

My question is what happens now and will we complete soon? The money has not left my account yet. And I've not been told a set completion date other than telling the solicitor multiple times ASAP.
Does anyone have experience with the skipton LISA accounts? It says it can take up to 30days to release the money but does it really take this long in peoples experience? 
Ideally I would have the house next week! But who knows.

Thanks 

iampetesmith

I'm not sure about LISA accounts, but we used a HTB ISA and we had to close these ourselves (me and the wife had one each). Then we had to give the solicitor our closing statements so they could claim the HTB bonus, and the money was emptied into my current account ready to pay the deposit & fees before exchange.

I'd just check with the solicitor to see if they're supposed to release the funds, but as it's your account I'd have thought you'd have to tell Skipton to release it. But if it says up to 30 days to release, then it could take that long. Some savings accounts have 30 or 60 day waiting periods for money withdrawals, so this can hold up sales if someone has to wait for it.

macman

No one can tell you how long it will take to exchange, only your conveyancer can know that.

diggingdude

I was close to being the first to withdraw LISA funds from Skipton. I had sorted out all the forms before and given to solicitor. Because they were not busy I think mine came through within a week. With more people using LISA and covid it is likely to take longer now. Ask Skipton themselves, they don't offer the best rates but I have found them very helpful which is why my mortgage is with them

gboy25

diggingdude said:

I was close to being the first to withdraw LISA funds from Skipton. I had sorted out all the forms before and given to solicitor. Because they were not busy I think mine came through within a week. With more people using LISA and covid it is likely to take longer now. Ask Skipton themselves, they don't offer the best rates but I have found them very helpful which is why my mortgage is with them

Thank you. I think I'll give them a ring tomorrow