Savings account for house deposit..

se2020

I have been actively looking for a house (ftb) for about 3yrs now. I'm still looking but I'm thinking it may take a while yet to find something that fits requirements. 

I know I should have done something before but I feel my deposit should be in  some sort of interest paying account.

I currently have a LISA which has been topped up with the full £4k each year.

The remaining funds for my deposit are in my current account held with natwest.
This is about £100k 
I would like to move at least £15k out of the natwest group (to have the protection if they happen to go bust).
Presumably I should not put more than £85k with any single savings group either?

I am not planning to need access to the money for anything other than a single withdrawal for a house purchase but I might find a house next week so I would need access to it within normal house conveyancing time frames with no tie-in period. 

Any recommendations on either savings accounts or places to look for information?

Thanks!

Albermarle

se2020 said:

I have been actively looking for a house (ftb) for about 3yrs now. I'm still looking but I'm thinking it may take a while yet to find something that fits requirements. 

I know I should have done something before but I feel my deposit should be in  some sort of interest paying account. Agreed

I currently have a LISA which has been topped up with the full £4k each year. Good

The remaining funds for my deposit are in my current account held with natwest.
This is about £100k A lot for a current account !
I would like to move at least £15k out of the natwest group (to have the protection if they happen to go bust).
Presumably I should not put more than £85k with any single savings group either? Correct.

I am not planning to need access to the money for anything other than a single withdrawal for a house purchase but I might find a house next week so I would need access to it within normal house conveyancing time frames with no tie-in period. 

Any recommendations on either savings accounts or places to look for information?

Thanks!

The simplest option is an easy access savings account. An alternative would be Premium Bonds ( max £50K)
You can get a little bit higher interest by having a notice account ( where for example you have to give 60 days notice) 
Compare The Best UK Savings Accounts | moneyfacts.co.uk

se2020

Albermarle said:

se2020 said:

I have been actively looking for a house (ftb) for about 3yrs now. I'm still looking but I'm thinking it may take a while yet to find something that fits requirements. 

I know I should have done something before but I feel my deposit should be in  some sort of interest paying account. Agreed

I currently have a LISA which has been topped up with the full £4k each year. Good

The remaining funds for my deposit are in my current account held with natwest.
This is about £100k A lot for a current account !
I would like to move at least £15k out of the natwest group (to have the protection if they happen to go bust).
Presumably I should not put more than £85k with any single savings group either? Correct.

I am not planning to need access to the money for anything other than a single withdrawal for a house purchase but I might find a house next week so I would need access to it within normal house conveyancing time frames with no tie-in period. 

Any recommendations on either savings accounts or places to look for information?

Thanks!

The simplest option is an easy access savings account. An alternative would be Premium Bonds ( max £50K)
You can get a little bit higher interest by having a notice account ( where for example you have to give 60 days notice) 
Compare The Best UK Savings Accounts | moneyfacts.co.uk

Thank you.
Would something with 60 days notice be suitable for a house deposit?
I will most likely be buying with a mortgage so it's unlikely to be a cash or auction purchase 

Band7

From Jan 6, you get better interest in the Coventry 6 access account, with no notice period https://www.coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk/member/savings/limited-access.html

It's quite possible that there will be some new rates popping up in the new year. Keep an eye on https://moneyfacts.co.uk/savings-accounts/

jimjames

se2020 said:

The remaining funds for my deposit are in my current account held with natwest.
This is about £100k 

At current rates that's costing you at least £3000 per year compared to putting it in a savings account - quite a considerable boost you'd get to your savings with that added on!

se2020

jimjames said:

se2020 said:

The remaining funds for my deposit are in my current account held with natwest.
This is about £100k 

At current rates that's costing you at least £3000 per year compared to putting it in a savings account - quite a considerable boost you'd get to your savings with that added on!

That's what I was thinking!
Although the balance has not been that high until recently. 

Qyburn

se2020 said:

Any recommendations on either savings accounts or places to look for information?

You don't mention an ISA other than your LISA, so if that's correct you could open a Virgin cash ISA paying 3%, put in £16K right now and another £16K in April. That's instant access.

Rotor

Qyburn said:

se2020 said:

Any recommendations on either savings accounts or places to look for information?

You don't mention an ISA other than your LISA, so if that's correct you could open a Virgin cash ISA paying 3%, put in £16K right now and another £16K in April. That's instant access.

Agree OP needs to get as much as they can into an ISA - not least because they will likely be paying tax on the interest with that much on deposit, Loughborough BS is offering 4,15% on 2 year bond but that doesn't mean it's tied up for 2 years ; just that you have to pay (in this case) 90 days loss of interest if you withdraw. A slight risk as you might find a house in less than a year it takes to 'break even' over the instant access that doesn't have the penalty ( or well under a year if OP doesn't want the bother of opening a current account to get Virgins' rate)

Qyburn

Rotor said:

.. if OP doesn't want the bother of opening a current account to get Virgins' rate)

I didn't really find it a bother, I opened the current account then opened the ISA almost straight away.

se2020

I'd rather not have to have 2 current accounts if possible. 
Unless the Virgin one can just be opened but not actually used?

Looking at the virgin site and there is a 1yr fixed rate at 3.79% that does not say it requires a current account with them.
The penalty for early withdrawal is 60 days loss of interest which makes me think I will end up better off providing I don't find a house within 60 days of opening the isa?

Another question, the virgin account guide says I can only subscribe to one cash isa per tax year.

My LISA is a cash isa so can I pay £4k into that and £16k into virgin?
Ie. Does "subscribe" mean "open"?

Another question I had would be, if it would be better to go for an instant access as if rates changed and somebody else's was offering a higher rate I could move the money.
But if I can only open 1 isa a year that answers that question!

Albermarle

There is a sub forum for ISA's where all questions about them have been asked and answered many times. So probably worth a look.
ISAs & tax-free savings — MoneySavingExpert Forum