Lifetime ISA Confusion

JWalt

Hello!

I have a Lifetime ISA and a somewhat complex use case where I'm not entirely sure whether I can use it.

Essentially, my partner has a home of her own that she has been paying the mortgage on for about two years now.

We've talked about moving in together, with the option of me buying into the equity when it comes to remortgaging.

My question is, can I use my Lifetime ISA to do that? Or does it specifically have to be for the sale of a new home? Reading the rules, I can see I am allowed to use a Lifetime ISA even if your partner isn't a first-time buyer themselves, but it's not clear whether or not it can be used on an existing home/mortgage or if it's strictly just for situations where we were both moving into a new property.

Hopefully that makes sense!

If it's not possible, I may have to cut my losses, stop contributing, and withdraw from the ISA.

My apologies in advance if this thread already exists (I wasn't able to find it!).

Thanks,

J

Exodi

Surprisingly yes (assuming the house is solely in her name currently and you meet all the other criteria).

JWalt

Exodi said:

Surprisingly yes (assuming the house is solely in her name currently and you meet all the other criteria).

Ah, that's fantastic news! Yes, the house is solely in her name, and I do meet all the other criteria. I suppose I would just need to speak to a solicitor, not only for the transfer of equity, but also to act for me when using the ISA etc?

Exodi

JWalt said:

Exodi said:

Surprisingly yes (assuming the house is solely in her name currently and you meet all the other criteria).

Ah, that's fantastic news! Yes, the house is solely in her name, and I do meet all the other criteria. I suppose I would just need to speak to a solicitor, not only for the transfer of equity, but also to act for me when using the ISA etc?

Yes, a conveyancing solicitor (and also if the contributions are unequal you both might want to consider owning as tenants in common and use the solicitor to draft a deed of trust for you). I'd anticipate needing to spend £1-2k on fees.

JWalt

Exodi said:

Yes, a conveyancing solicitor (and also if the contributions are unequal you both might want to consider owning as tenants in common and use the solicitor to draft a deed of trust for you). I'd anticipate needing to spend £1-2k on fees.

Thank you so much for your help! Appreciate the quick responses, too.