Help to Buy ISA guide

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Comments

  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
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    DHarrison wrote: »
    Is there a minimum period before you can rent out the property? Would it be expected to pay back the bonus somehow?

    There is no minimum period you have to live in your property for. However, you do need to have a mortgage on the property, and I believe many owner-occupied mortgages preclude the letting of the property whilst it is mortgaged. You'd have to find a way to settle the mortgage, or replace it with a BTL mortgage. This might come at a cost which may well evaporate your HTB bonus money and then some.

    Official FAQ: http://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
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    weeketty wrote: »
    My boyfriend owns a home and I am looking to buy half of it and have a join mortgage on it, would I be eligible or would we need to be moving?

    If it would be your first ever home you own a share in, you should qualify for the HTB ISA and bonus. Official FAQ: http://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq
  • helloHTB
    helloHTB Posts: 7 Forumite
    My partner and myself are wanting to open a help to buy ISA but we both are wanting to go through different banks. Are we still allowed to claim the bonus from the government for the same property if we have two different help to buy ISA, for example one with halifax, one with virgin.

    I haven't got any previous ISA so wanted to open the one with Halifax, I noticed on the website you need to open the account with a min of £1-£1000. I was hoping to open the account with £1200, then pay two further instalments of £200 per month so I could qualify for the £400 bonus within the first 3 month ... is this not possible with Halifax? Should I look for a different provider who does allow you to open the account with £1200?

    Also I have a Sandanter 123 account which I currently hold some savings in, this 123 account Isn't classed as a ISA is it? i am free to move money from a 123 account to a help to buy ISA without it effecting rates on the help to buy ISA?

    Thanks
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
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    You don't have to have your ISAs with the same provider. Although - - why would your partner forego the 4% Halifax offer and settle for the 3% at Virgin?

    You can open the Halifax with a down-payment of £1,000 (bank transfer or debit card). The monthly £200, including the £200 for December, must apparently come by Standing Order. You certainly can deposit a total of £1,200 into the Halifax HTB ISA in your first month.

    A Santander 123 isn't an ISA and you can do with the money in it as you please.
  • SandorMary
    SandorMary Posts: 2 Newbie
    In your case if you open one now, you can put in the initial£1200 now, £200 in January, and £200 on the 1St of February. Which would give you the qualifying amount for the minimum £400 bonus.

    Hope it helps.
  • SandorMary
    SandorMary Posts: 2 Newbie
    I just opened one with Halifax and after the initial £1000 I transferred another £200, but it wasn't a standing order. Will I lose the bonus on this particular £200 chunk? If I transfer it back to my current account, will I still be able to make another top up this month?

    Another thing.. I understand that both me and my wife are eligible to open a HTB ISA but does that also mean that when the time comes to buy a property we can use both bonuses of up to £6000 for our first home?

    Thanks
  • peterw47
    peterw47 Posts: 4 Newbie
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    With Nationwide, is it simply a case of applying online for a HTB and standard ISA separately one after the other? I wouldn't want to apply for one and screw something up so I couldn't run two at once if I didn't follow correct process!?

    I plan to open 2 with Nationwide and the missus a single Halifax HTB, with all savings (over the usual HTB limit obviously) going into my standard ISA. That makes sense to get the best rates overall doesn't it?

    That way we can take advantage of Nationwide Save To Buy mortgage rates too if we end up taking a mortgage with them.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
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    peterw47 wrote: »

    I plan to open 2 with Nationwide and the missus a single Halifax HTB, with all savings (over the usual HTB limit obviously) going into my standard ISA. That makes sense to get the best rates overall doesn't it?
    It makes sense if both you and your wife have maxed the interest paying current accounts, as well as the regular savings/monthly savings accounts (that accounts for over £120K). Otherwise non-HTB cash ISAs are a huge waste of money.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    SandorMary wrote: »
    I just opened one with Halifax and after the initial £1000 I transferred another £200, but it wasn't a standing order. Will I lose the bonus on this particular £200 chunk? If I transfer it back to my current account, will I still be able to make another top up this month?
    It should be ok, but if you can't see the money online in your HTB ISA, best call Halifax and ask them to confirm that everything is alright.
    SandorMary wrote: »
    Another thing.. I understand that both me and my wife are eligible to open a HTB ISA but does that also mean that when the time comes to buy a property we can use both bonuses of up to £6000 for our first home?
    Yes, two people can team up and use their HTB ISAs against the mortgage on the same property.
    Can I open a Help to Buy: ISA with someone else?
    No. Help to Buy: ISAs are only available to individuals. But, you can put more than one government bonus towards the home you are buying. So, if you are buying a home with someone else who is also a first time buyer, they can open and save money into their own account and receive a government bonus.

    - See more at: http://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq#sthash.65pSKr2b.dpuf
  • anistar77
    anistar77 Posts: 3 Newbie
    I've seen the news about the new Help to Buy ISA's but have a couple of questions I can't find the answers to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated:

    I already have a cash ISA that has a fair chunk of money in it, but I haven't paid into it at all this year - just received interest on it. Does this mean I can't open a new Help to Buy ISA?

    Would I have to take all of the money out of the cash ISA in order to have a Help to Buy ISA, as I understand you can't have both running at the same time?

    And this is a really basic question, so excuse my ignorance, but do I have a to have a bank account at a particular bank to open an ISA there?

    Many thanks for any help given.
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