Help to Buy ISA guide

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  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
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    badger09 wrote: »
    Even though OP has already subscribed to her cash ISA this year?
    Yes, once a year you can close an existing ISA and start a new one. Rule 12.33 in the ISA Guidance Notes if memory serves right.
  • amr547
    amr547 Posts: 1,665 Forumite
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    Any idea how long it takes to claim the bonus at the minute? My solicitor is now claiming, and has already signed up to the exchange:j

    Still confused about what the money is being used for.is it the balance of the house? My letter said it won't be used for the deposit but towards the purchase price. So I assume it just reduces the amount I am borrowing?? Any clarify appreciated !
  • badger09
    badger09 Posts: 11,206 Forumite
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    colsten wrote: »
    Yes, once a year you can close an existing ISA and start a new one. Rule 12.33 in the ISA Guidance Notes if memory serves right.

    I'm aware of that rule;)

    However, as OP has already subscribed to a cash ISA with Halifax this year, and is proposing to open a HTB ISA with them, I foresee problems (with Halifax):cool:

    To be honest, for OP, I think an ISA transfer will be less of a faff than what you've suggested.
  • foster88
    foster88 Posts: 5 Forumite
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    I was wondering if anyone could help. I opened up an halifax Help to buy isa 15th march and transferred over £1000 from an old santander ISA I opened a few years ago, which I never paid into except from the original payment when opening it.

    Now when I try to top up my halifax help to buy isa it says

    9100212 : Unfortunately, we cannot process your transaction as it does not comply with Help to Buy ISA funding rules. You may have exceeded your initial deposit amount of £1000, tried to deposit more than £200 a month, or tried to make more than one deposit in a calendar month. For more information on funding rules, please refer to the key features on the Help to Buy ISA product page.

    This occurred both in March and now April, any advice?

    thank you
  • badger09
    badger09 Posts: 11,206 Forumite
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    edited 24 April 2016 at 6:04PM
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    How much are you trying to pay in?

    and by what method?

    http://www.halifax.co.uk/isas/cash-isas/

    Funding must be by standing order to be received by 25th of the month. Is that where you're going wrong?
  • foster88
    foster88 Posts: 5 Forumite
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    yes i was not using standing order, thanks for the reply
  • Kateod
    Kateod Posts: 3 Newbie
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    Hi sorry if this has been asked before but we are currently in the process of purchasing our first home. The offer has been accepted and the mortgage confirmed (8 weeks ago), we are now just waiting for the solicitor to sort contracts etc. We spoke to Halifax on Saturday about something different but the H2B ISA got mentioned and we have been told the Solicitor has to be registered, which we have not been told before (not happy with Halifax about this). I am 99% sure our solicitor wont be registered because when we mentioned the ISA to him, he didn't even know what it was. What can we do, if he isn't registered, is there any other way of getting the bonus???
    Thank you
  • Marblehead_2
    Marblehead_2 Posts: 16 Forumite
    edited 25 April 2016 at 11:33AM
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    Kateod wrote: »
    Hi sorry if this has been asked before but we are currently in the process of purchasing our first home. The offer has been accepted and the mortgage confirmed (8 weeks ago), we are now just waiting for the solicitor to sort contracts etc. We spoke to Halifax on Saturday about something different but the H2B ISA got mentioned and we have been told the Solicitor has to be registered, which we have not been told before (not happy with Halifax about this). I am 99% sure our solicitor wont be registered because when we mentioned the ISA to him, he didn't even know what it was. What can we do, if he isn't registered, is there any other way of getting the bonus???
    Thank you

    Hi Kate, look at LangRobbie's post number 905 a bit further up the page, at 21st Apr 16, 11:17 PM. It is doable! :)

    It's not really Halifax's error, they are only responsible for the ISA Managers' side of things. Solicitors are responsible for the Conveyancers' side of things, and it's all clear in the Scheme's rules and guidance at https://www.helptobuyisaadmin.org.uk/. I would imagine it was for your solicitor to tell you early on that there was an issue with applying for the HTB bonus on your behalf. My solicitor did things in a bit of rush, and it was a bit the blind leading the blind as it was very early on. However, now the scheme has been up and running for a couple of months, it is becoming clearly how it works, so solicitors should really know what they are doing/need to do if their client has a HTB ISA, or indeed let them know if they are not registered. You are paying them to check the whole purchasing process, and if they missed the fact that you have a HTB ISA (assuming you told them), that's a bit poor.

    I would have thought solicitors working with house-buyers would keep abreast of schemes like this, even if they didn't intend to take part in them, but maybe that's expecting too much of them.
  • Jaunty_One
    Jaunty_One Posts: 47 Forumite
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    Hi everyone

    Apologies if this has been answered already (feel free to direct me to a relevant post).

    I've just exchanged and have a completion date of May 9th. I'm wondering how long the process takes regarding receiving the interest from the government via your solicitor. I wanted to wait until May 1st to close the account to bag the extra 50 squid :cool:

    I'm part of a chain and any delay will cause complications. I suppose it might be like asking how long is a piece of sting(!). Can anyone help?

    By the way, I've been trying to buy since Feb 2014 and lost money/time on four other properties so if you're a fellow first time buyer that has made it this far, seriously pat yourself on the back; I bet it hasn't been easy!! :www:
  • Jaunty_One
    Jaunty_One Posts: 47 Forumite
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    amr547 wrote: »
    Any idea how long it takes to claim the bonus at the minute? My solicitor is now claiming, and has already signed up to the exchange:j

    Still confused about what the money is being used for.is it the balance of the house? My letter said it won't be used for the deposit but towards the purchase price. So I assume it just reduces the amount I am borrowing?? Any clarify appreciated !

    Hi amr547, reckon I can help. This is from Martin's guide:

    The solicitor then uses the letter to apply online for the government bonus. However, you can only use the bonus for your mortgage deposit, not your home deposit. What this means in practice is that the Government bonus can't be used toward the deposit you pay to the seller when you exchange contracts, it can only be used at completion (see Buying a Home - the Timeline to learn about the difference). :money:

    When contracts were exchanged, you would have paid deposit equal to 10% of the purchase price, a bond/binding agreement to go through with the purchase. The Help to Buy ISA interest cannot be used at this point, but it can be used at completion when you hand the rest of your money to the solicitor.

    I'm in the same boat so I don't know how long the bonus takes to come through. Hopefully not too long!
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