Where to put large deposit while I look for a house?

buddabing

Hi all

I have recently got divorced and my ex has bought me out of our house. This means I am about to receive £250k. I've started looking for a house for myself but I've got other things going on in life so I'm not really in a big rush. 

My question is, where can I put this money to get the best return whilst ensuring it is 100% safe? I won't need instant access but obviously once I have had an offer accepted I'll need to get the money reasonably quickly.

I know I can put 20k in an ISA but apart from that I really don't know what I should do with this money. I could put 50k in premium bonds but I don't see the point when the returns are a lottery.

So what can I do with this chunk of money? 

wmb194

buddabing said:

Hi all

I have recently got divorced and my ex has bought me out of our house. This means I am about to receive £250k. I've started looking for a house for myself but I've got other things going on in life so I'm not really in a big rush. 

My question is, where can I put this money to get the best return whilst ensuring it is 100% safe? I won't need instant access but obviously once I have had an offer accepted I'll need to get the money reasonably quickly.

I know I can put 20k in an ISA but apart from that I really don't know what I should do with this money. I could put 50k in premium bonds but I don't see the point when the returns are a lottery.

So what can I do with this chunk of money? 

An instant/easy access account. Standard FSCS coverage is now £120k per person per account and if you qualify for the temporary increased six month protection it's £1.4m and this includes selling you main residence.

When looking at the Moneyfacts tables make sure to change, "sort" to "rate."

https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savings-accounts/

https://www.fscs.org.uk/making-a-claim/claims-process/temporary-high-balances/

AP3

If you're happy with the temporary high balance protection, definitely do as mentioned above.

Otherwise it would be safe with the NS&I in an account like income bonds. You get the interest monthly to your current account, and can get the capital out quickly and easily.

https://www.nsandi.com/products/income-bonds

elkiedee

Some providers pay higher rate of interest on a limited access account than one with unlimited withdrawals - I have several accounts offering between 4 and 6 withdrawals a year, instantly and with no loss of interest up to the allowed number of withdrawals. So you could make withdrawals to pay fees, deposit and to withdraw/move any balance to another account as you need (probably keeping larger amounts together for the deposit but a smaller limited access account for other expenses you're likely to incur) and perhaps consider whether you're likely to need money when you buy a house to get it ready to move in or make improvements when you have moved in, or to buy furniture, kitchen stuff etc.

dosh37

Don't forget that if you don't find a suitable property before 2027 then you will incur an increase in savings tax (20%->22% or 40%->42%) thanks to Harman and the Labour Govt.

I don't understand how this move is supposed to encourage saving or help people trying to get on the housing ladder. Just another way for Labour to tax ordinary working people rather than the super rich.

ColdIron

Pretty sure HH has nothing to do with the budget. Anyway she's in the HoL

dosh37

ColdIron said:

Pretty sure HH has nothing to do with the budget. Anyway she's in the HoL

So the chancellor has nothing to do with the budget? That deserves a ROFL emoji. Unfortunatly I can't find one.

ColdIron

And, err, who is the Chancellor?

dosh37

Ok so I got the name wrong.

mebu60

dosh37 said:

ColdIron said:

Pretty sure HH has nothing to do with the budget. Anyway she's in the HoL

So the chancellor has nothing to do with the budget? That deserves a ROFL emoji. Unfortunatly I can't find one.

I think you'll find the Chancellor of the Exchequer (as at the time of typing) is more RR (aka Rachel from accounts) than HH. The Baroness Harman was many things as an MP but never Chancellor. 

eskbanker

Think the emoji you're looking for is 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️