**************Available from 1 December 2015*****************
Halifax will be offering the market-leader on rate for the Help to Buy ISA.Halifax will offer its Help to Buy ISA at 4% AER from Tuesday.
Halifax has launched a table-topping Help to Buy Isa rate for first-time buyers looking to build a mortgage deposit.
Help to Buy ISAs are a no-brainer if you're saving for a deposit for an eligible home. It's a tax-free savings product in which the Government adds 25% on top of whatever you've saved
Anyone can get one, as long as you're a first-time buyer or plan to be in the future. You can open one anytime between 1 December 2015 and December 2019. A first-time buyer is someone who doesn't own (and hasn't ever owned) an interest in a residential property, either inside or outside the UK, whether it was bought or inherited.
The Help to Buy Isa has been created to provide a tax-free savings account for first-time buyers to save for deposit, boosted by a government bonus.
First-time buyers can save £200 each month and the government provides a 25 per cent bonus on the interest and contributions once the product is closed.
However, the bonus is set at a maximum of £3,000 so the maximum that can be saved to benefit from the bonus is £12,000.
So at the point you use the ISA to buy your first home, all the money you have put in and the interest will have 25% added to it, with two exceptions:
- You need to have at least £1,600 saved to get the bonus (so you'd get £400 extra).
- The most you'll get the bonus on is £12,000 (so a £3,000 bonus). If you have more than that, you can still use the ISA to save, you just won't get more than £3,000 on top.
Will update the link soon :)
Live 01/12 http://www.halifax.co.uk/isas/cash-isas/help-to-buy-isa/
- malkin94
Top comments
kharma45 to ngangekrubally
29 Nov 1530#19
Dat tin foil hat
DemonIT to bankerscum
29 Nov 1514#53
Nutter alert!
Also, you may have wanted to use a hyphen in your username. #justsayin
bankerscum
29 Nov 1512#30
help to buy = tories funding tories.
snack_attack to jdurler
30 Nov 1511#182
Honestly some of these questions just demonstrate what a poorly financially educated country we are. :confused:
It's an ISA. Of course it's tax free.
Well this is a help to buy ISA for FIRST time buyers. Having already bought a property, the next property you buy will be your SECOND property purchase. Based on that information (which you already knew), what do you think the answer is?
Mr Sime_Bardo deposits £1200 in the first month of his help to buy ISA account, followed by monthly payments of £200 until June 2016. Total = £2400. Add 4% to that and then a further 25%. Deduct £60 or thereabouts for the solicitor fee.
Repeat for Mrs Sime_Bardo.
I suspect you'll be better off.
One general point to add with regards to the Halifax offer, the 4% interest rate is variable. Expect an influx of several thousand customers over the next few weeks and I guarantee they'll reduce the rate within 6-12 months.
All comments (275)
fazered
29 Nov 154#1
I'm so happy about these. Just the right time. Just a couple of notes.
You can open the isa with a deposit of £1200. If you are able to save more than the £200 a month then it might best to get the £1200 the deposit together before opening.
House value maximum is £250,000 and £450,000 in London.
You can't add to a cash ISA and a Save To Buy in the same year.
It's a personal ISA so if you are a couple you can have one each and get a £6000 maximum but you'd be looking at 4.5 years of saving to get it and houses will be way more expensive by then.
sotomonkey to fazered
30 Nov 151#84
Houses way more expensive by then huh? You obviously haven't seen what's been happening to buy to let lately and the general sentiment toward buy to let by the Bank of England and the European Union Basel Committee on Banking Supervision . House prices will start falling around the end of 2017 in my opinion if the buy to let changes are anything to go by.
If you were cynical you'd say the government have timed the Help to Buy ISA to coincide with this as they know home owners are more likely to vote for them in future.
andyatkinson to fazered
30 Nov 15#161
Apparently with Nationwide you can have a help to buy isa and a save to buy isa and use the full 15k allowance in a year but both the isas are 2%
mcdexsta
29 Nov 15#2
Do you have to prove you are buying a house when you cash it in at the end of the plan? Ie could you just invest in it and not buy a property!
coralgough to mcdexsta
29 Nov 153#5
Yes, when you are ready you must close the ISA and produce the documents to your solicitor who will then claim the bonus for you. This bonus is not paid into your ISA. You could just invest in it if you want but you would only get your 4% interest and not the 25% bonus unless you are actually buying a home.
jwc061 to mcdexsta
29 Nov 152#24
Yes a conveyancer has to apply for the bonus amount when transacting on the property.
rohitmkiller to mcdexsta
29 Nov 15#70
no you can't as the money will be paid out to your lawyer/conveyance person when you buy your first property.
turntablez to mcdexsta
30 Nov 151#183
Dont be daft!
You will receive the money when you get a mortgage. You wont even see it.
DarrylJohn
29 Nov 15#3
Does the government top up need to be repaid if you deposit 12k? Also, do you need to use the help to buy housing scheme to use this? I'm not interested in the help to buy. I'd prefer to save more upfront.
coralgough
29 Nov 155#4
Please be aware the bonus does not get added to the ISA account itself, the solicitor you are using must apply for the bonus by producing the ISA closure confirmation.
the gooner to coralgough
29 Nov 157#7
Just to add the max a solicitor can charge for this service is £50 + VAT
ngangekrubally
29 Nov 158#6
Another scheme for the government to track your savings.....not me
Ashe to ngangekrubally
29 Nov 154#17
Yeah, much safer to keep your money under your mattress. :confused:
kharma45 to ngangekrubally
29 Nov 1530#19
Dat tin foil hat
barbiegirl to ngangekrubally
30 Nov 151#104
LOL. Because they really need a scheme to do that. They couldn't just check your bank account..
rakinmorjaria1 to ngangekrubally
30 Nov 15#109
I'll happily let them track my savings if they're paying me £3000 to do it.
pinkchick1987
29 Nov 151#8
Love this! Will be at the bank Tuesday, thanks :smiley:
m1chaels
29 Nov 15#9
Do the bank care if you are a ftb if you just want a 4% regular saver and don't care about the govt top up?
sammypants
29 Nov 15#10
Does anybody know how long i will have to keep for example £12K in the ISA for to get the full £3000?
coralgough to sammypants
29 Nov 155#15
You can save a maximum of £200 per month into your help to buy ISA in effect this should take you 5 years to save up the maximum but bare in mind you can start your ISA with a one off deposit of £1200 so this will take 6 months off the time it takes. hope this helps.
jakehill307
29 Nov 15#11
does anyone know if you can open one if you have already deposited into a cash ISA this tax year?
coralgough to jakehill307
29 Nov 15#12
You won't be able to open one untill the next tax year sorry, you can not open or deposit into more than one ISA per tax year.
jakehill307
29 Nov 15#13
If it was open last tax year and not deposited into this tax year would I be okay? I think I have withdrawn from it though
Bargainhunteree
29 Nov 152#14
It's a bit annoying that I have previously owned a property but when we sold it we only broke even...now 2 years of renting later, I suppose I'm not classed as a first time buyer even tho I'm basically starting from scratch again :disappointed:
Lucas_0224 to Bargainhunteree
30 Nov 15#82
Not sure if any use but I think you may need to explore further, this is on the Nationwide website under their help to buy ISA:
*** A first time buyer is someone who has not had a mortgage in the last three years preceding the opening of the account. A home mover is someone who is moving home and have been party to a mortgage in the last three years. Any existing mortgage(s) must be repaid or, for existing Nationwide mortgages, may be ported, on completion of the Save to Buy mortgage.
sammypants
29 Nov 15#16
Ahh fantastic cheers, thanks for the quick response :smiley:
CrazyBob
29 Nov 153#18
Good job someone thought to put a limit on it :sunglasses:
vikki78vicky
29 Nov 15#20
This can be opened for a 16 yr old. As I have asked my son to open one and start saving. I no he can't save much at the mo. But a small start now. Will mean he might move out 1 day. Plus we can add to it if we get a chance. Can we tie it in for x amount of yrs as well. Just in case he Try's to withdraw from it.
gooners
29 Nov 15#21
Can a parent pay directly into this for their child (over 16)?
jwc061
29 Nov 155#22
Saving for 5 years... house prices likely to have risen by more than the 'bonus' by that time.
Matty18 to jwc061
29 Nov 153#28
I don't understand why people post cynical comments like this. If someone is saving for a house deposit then they may as well take advantage of this scheme while it's available. You don't have to save for 5 years by the way, just a maximum of 5 years.
ACIDFORUMS
29 Nov 15#23
How does it stop you opening of you just want an Isa account and mot looking into property buying
kiish
29 Nov 154#25
There are still 9 other banks who haven't announced their details yet, certainly wouldn't jump ship to sign up with Halifax on release.
Also more to it than just the rate such as the withdrawal rules etc
kiish
29 Nov 15#26
You receive a letter upon withdrawing and closing your account which you give to your solicitor who then applies to the government for the bonus.
If you don't buy a house you do keep the interest in this case 4% from the bank but don't receive the bonus.
daniq
29 Nov 15#27
I have saved 10k for buying a house. Can I apply for this account having savings already?
Matty18 to daniq
29 Nov 151#29
Yes, but you can't put all 10k into it, just a deposit of £1200, and then £200 a month!
snoopy18 to daniq
29 Nov 15#35
Of course
bankerscum
29 Nov 1512#30
help to buy = tories funding tories.
delboyd to bankerscum
29 Nov 154#31
Hahaha this thread has some characters on it today!
Can you elaborate on your point?
DemonIT to bankerscum
29 Nov 1514#53
Nutter alert!
Also, you may have wanted to use a hyphen in your username. #justsayin
santosharelle
29 Nov 151#32
It's great maybe for people who are young and are in no rush to buy. When they are ready to buy years down the line they will have a nice top up from the government.
Not so great for other first time buyers who are older and wish to save more than £200 a month and buy quicker
moggster2001 to santosharelle
29 Nov 15#37
if already saving just continue to put the extra into that savings account!?
ash4933 to santosharelle
29 Nov 154#57
Even if you are in a rush the minimum you can save is £1600 which takes 3 months to save! In 3 months you get a free £400 it's a no brainer
kowalski
29 Nov 151#33
Worth looking at the Nationwide's offering. I believe you can open a normal Cash ISA in the same tax year as the Help To Buy ISA - as long as both products are with Nationwide. Only 2% though...
I don't have any Halifax branch around. Does any other bank offer similar ISA?
lucas
29 Nov 15#36
How to they know if you're a first time buyer or not?
snoopy18
29 Nov 15#38
2% is rubbish
santosharelle
29 Nov 15#39
Could be a good shout actually
veedubjai
29 Nov 15#40
Better to wait & see what other banks are offering before jumping ship.
MayorWest to veedubjai
29 Nov 151#41
What are you expecting? The 25% and £200 per month is set by the government.
The best savings rate at the moment is 5% up to 2k with TSB but over that you're looking at 4% and lower.
Why do you think there will be better than this? This looks as good as it gets to me.
oliverkennedy10
29 Nov 15#42
Someone commented saying you can both open one if you're in a relationship.. but what happens when you're trying to buy the house and close the Isa would it be 25% each or only one? And what happens with the bonuses?
ash4933 to oliverkennedy10
29 Nov 15#62
If both you and your partner save the maximum of £12,000 for example you would both get the bonus of £3000 each therefore saving £24,000 each + £3000 each totalling £30,000. But however much you both save you will both get 25% added.
friiza
29 Nov 15#43
does it come with free bubblegum?
mrandmrsriley
29 Nov 15#44
how do you know it's going to be 4% when it hasn't been announced yet??
cliosport65 to mrandmrsriley
29 Nov 153#66
all over the news already but feel free to wait until Tuesday :smile:
JunkBox
29 Nov 152#45
Yes the 25% bonus will be the same across all the banks. However, the interest rate they offer along side the bonus is up to them to set. Bearing in mind you can only put away £200 a month, you may find the interest rates are higher than other saving accounts.
seanmorris100
29 Nov 151#46
this is hot deals, people dont even have 15 quid never mind 15k lol..or even 12k!
Steve Mac
29 Nov 15#47
Not sure if this has been asked and I'm rubbish with figures and facts but if I was able to put £12k straight into one of these would I automatically get the complete bonus or does it have to be a monthly payment to qualify?
ibblackberry1 to Steve Mac
29 Nov 15#60
The scheme dies not allow one off deposits of thst size, initial £1k then £200pm
dodoegg1
29 Nov 15#48
Interesting. With regards to the £200 a month can I set up a direct debit to deposit that amount every month? I need 2 direct debits going out of santander 123 account. I wish there were some cheap direct debit schemes knocking about its impossible to find any
LibertyCap89 to dodoegg1
29 Nov 15#73
Try setting up some DD's to a charity of your choosing! Pay what you want and to a good cause!
Wooders666
29 Nov 15#49
Does the bonus only count on savings made within the 5 years, so if it takes longer to save the £12000 you may not get the £3000?
For example I save only £8000 in 5 years but go on to save £12000, would I only be entitled to a £2000 bonus or the full £3000?
Matty18 to Wooders666
29 Nov 151#55
The account will only remain open for 5 years, so whatever you save in that 5 years is what you'll get the bonus on.
ash4933 to Wooders666
29 Nov 15#61
What they're saying is the shortest amount of time it would take to save the maximum (£12,000) is 5 years if it takes you longer it takes you longer there is no cut off point
MJ10
29 Nov 151#50
NOTE: the govt bonus is paid as a voucher at the time you are purchasing a house and is not paid into the account at all.
This is a great scheme for first time buyers and I will be taking full advantage of this, even if it's only for 12 months when we'll hopefully be ready to buy!!
If I'm already adding to an ISA this year do I have to wait until April to start this??
Matty18 to marshy51
29 Nov 15#56
yes, sadly i'm in the same boat, it's a little unfair if you ask me.
ash4933 to marshy51
29 Nov 15#59
Yes
1VR46
29 Nov 15#54
I've been waiting for this for a while now.
Can any one enlighten me on something,
Do you have to have a bank account with the bank to open a H2B ISA?
Can I stay with my bank but take advantage of the Halifax rate?
ash4933 to 1VR46
29 Nov 15#58
It works like any other regular ISA you can open it up with any bank or building society offering the HTB ISA so shop around get the best rate
Wooders666
29 Nov 15#63
ah thanks. I just misunderstood what the dates were referring to.
zaid89
29 Nov 15#64
I've read all the comments and know this hasn't been asked if anyone knows...
Do you think it's possible to open this saving account and when you eventually buy, buy from the share to buy government scheme, or those schemes are mutually exclusive?
Thanks!
GreyWales to zaid89
30 Nov 15#102
The choice is 100% up to you. You are able to go with a govt scheme like help to buy/shared ownership or you can go it alone and proceed with a regular mortgage.
:smiley:
malkin94
29 Nov 15#65
Really didn't expect the rate to be this high. Well pleased and will be opening a couple.
Nationwide is the only contender atm with "The building society is also offering up to £1,750 cashback for anyone who goes on to use its Save to Buy Mortgage range of products. This is made up of £1,000 cashback on savings of £5,000, £500 cashback on mortgages and £250 if you open a Flexclusive current account." (sauce)
Debating it but not sure if it's worth the 2% and committing to nationwide. Believe the 500 quid would only be per mortgage rather than account, not sure about the grand though, but nationwide also allows you to open an umbrella ISA and use the remainder of your yearly allowance whilst still being classes as one ISA if I read correctly. May be worth one account with nationwide for potential cashback and ability to dump more money in and another account with Halifax for the higher %. Reap rewards of both then I guess.
As others have said, come a bit late for me, but well worth transferring money in from other savings for as long as possible for a little boost.
Let's see the other offerings!
jazzyb88
29 Nov 15#67
Not voting either way but a completely pointless scheme by the government. Just another demand-side policy when the real solution needs to come from supply i.e. building more homes.
What I don't get about this ISA is by the time you've saved £12k and got your £3k top-up, the prices will have risen by that much easily.
Perhaps fine if you are outside of the South East/London area though.
ash4933
29 Nov 151#68
For a lot of people it will take them a long time to save up £12,000 there for prices of houses today are irrelevant to them as they would never have been in a position to buy one at prices now. For those people it's a great idea as they would have been saving anyway so why not take advantage of £3000 for free
jaydeeuk1
29 Nov 15#69
Am I eligible as I live with wife in her home - her and mum on mortgage. I have never owned a home. If we did a joint mortgage application to move house would that be a problem?
mcx
29 Nov 151#71
Does anyone know if this applies to Scotland? I'm under the impression they had a separate Help to Buy scheme from England previously but not sure if this is now it's for the whole of the UK.
Keel88
29 Nov 15#72
The account can remain open for 15 years? Closes in 2030. Can continue to leave it open until you buy a house/close it, but your max bonus will still be only 25%.
LibertyCap89
29 Nov 151#74
Why are there so many dumb comments like this?
I'm using this scheme for 3 months before a house purchase and cashing out. Bags us, as a couple, £800... can't complain!
snack_attack
29 Nov 15#75
I am not a first time buyer HOWEVER I've still voted hot because 4% is an exceptionally good interest rate for an ISA.
My Mrs would technically be a first time buyer as she's never bought a house in her name. Even though she has no intention of buying a house she'll definitely be opening one of these on Tuesday purely because of the interest rate.
More positively if your cash isa is small in value (<1200) I think you can transfer it in and this article (BBC) suggusts you may be able to close your opened cash isa and still do this one (if that works out sensible £ wise). Good luck.
xfirebladex
29 Nov 15#77
I purposefully put off on opening another ISA this fiscal year in a hope that these Help To Buy ISAs would appear in November. Glad to see we haven't been misled and I shall be taking advantage of the scheme to make whatever gains I can before making my first house purchase.
As an aside, the bonus that is released by the solicitor when you complete, is that amount added to your deposit or deducted from your mortgage? Will that bonus be considered on the mortgage repayment rates? Or is the bonus released on completion and you can use it as you wish; a holiday or home improvements?
badumtish to xfirebladex
29 Nov 15#78
The bonus will be used as a contribution towards your deposit. Lots more information here.
MayorWest
29 Nov 151#79
The only way to change that is by voting Labour.
The Tories have no intention of changing the status quo because too many of them benefit from it.
SeaneyB
29 Nov 15#80
Anyone else read that the interest the account pays you goes toward the bonus that the government paid on account closure? So whether the account pays 4% or 0.4%, customers are getting the same amount at the end.
MayorWest to SeaneyB
29 Nov 15#81
My understanding is that the 25% is based on your contribution + interest. So in fact you're benefitting twice from a higher interest rate. You get the interest + 25% again.
Krizzo3
30 Nov 15#83
Tried getting mortgage with Halifax 30k deposit was not good enough, (over 20%), not so easy for self employed.
chocci
30 Nov 151#85
With an influx of 350, 000 people every year and low rates of house building, I can't see house prices doing anything but continuing to rise
On average, my house has risen £16,000 per year for 20 years and forecast to rise£35,000 next year alone :confused:
My dream of selling up and leaving the UK has been put on hold whilst Spanish property prices keep falling and UK prices keep rising
DownUGo
30 Nov 15#86
Am I correct here,
With Nationwide I can open a save-to-buy ISA @ 2% AER & a cash 3-year ISA @ 3% AER in the same tax year and add to both, essentially getting 5% AER.
With Halifax I can only open a save-to-buy ISA @ 4%.
So Nationwide seems better correct?
Did some math, and Halifax is better, but only if I can't put in more than the £200 max. If I can save more than £335 then Nationwide is better. Math below;
Halifax: £200 x 4% = £8
Nationwide: (£200 x 2% = £4) + (£135 x 3% = £4.05) = £8.05
Haven't added the Halifax bonus, and need to find out if Nationwide offer bonuses.
hbarton to DownUGo
30 Nov 15#89
No,
You are only allowed to pay into one ISA per year
sotomonkey
30 Nov 15#87
400,000 starter homes will be built under various schemes to support FTBs (although would agree it's hard to take this government for their word), that'll increase supply. Also don't assume that EU nationals will want to buy, they're far more likely to rent.
So you have:
an increase in supply from that + any other housing that's built.
a reasonable proportion of btl landlords selling off properties to avoid tax changes between 2017 and 20
Less buy to let lending because of a) more regulation, b) higher rates because of Basel, c) 3% extra stamp duty
Then there's also the distinct possibility that the BoE will increase rates, which will again make buy to let more expensive.
Maybe the increase in FTBs will increase demand and balance out all these supply side issues but I honestly think house prices will come down as btl was a major reason why they went up in the first place.
Edit: as I forgot to add the effect from the cooling of the London housing market. The top end of this already crashed somewhat about a year ago (papers were very quiet about it) and there's definitely been a lot less money coming into it from overseas buyers, particularly after what happened in China and the tumbling oil price.
+ don't forget that regulation in the PRS has been on the increase lately. HMO licencing schemes being a case in point.
bojangles
30 Nov 151#88
while it's a good deal on paper, it will take 4 1/2 years to get the maximum government kickback.
It's good for the short term as in 3 months you can save £1600 & get £400 kickback.
But schemes like this, Help to buy, etc. is not going to fix the problem of unaffordable homes.
How are key public workers like nurses & teachers expected to earn enough to buy a home close to their work?
muttyhc
30 Nov 15#90
is it one per person or one per household?
bojangles to muttyhc
30 Nov 15#91
1 per person, but only first time buyers are eligible for the 25% bonus.
So up to £6k for a couple, if both have never owned a property.
danieldraper96
30 Nov 15#92
That's disappointing. Was hoping we'd be able to double up, oh well, I suppose it's better than nothing
jazzyb88
30 Nov 15#93
Hardly a dumb comment. You can't argue taxpayers cash wouldn't be put to better use by building more homes, surely?
If it benefits you in the short term, by all means do it. But my point about the long term aspect of it still holds true obviously.
jhyt89
30 Nov 15#94
poor use of figures.
350,000 increase in net immigration per year.
400,000 new homes built over 4 years.
the maths don't add up
tempus121
30 Nov 15#95
Free money is good where ever you can get it, I agree with others the time scale of 5 years should be adjusted for those who want to get on the ladder sooner. Still I wouldn't have turned my nose up at this when saving for a deposit, I'm sure I had some 1.7 percent interest crap.
liamfitzgerald
30 Nov 15#96
Does anyone know if me and my partner can open ours online or does it have to be in a branch?
sotomonkey
30 Nov 15#97
As said, you're assuming 350,000 people a year or at least a distinct proportion of them will buy a house and that this figure will be maintained over the next few years. Look at the market sentiment in buy to let, it's screaming sell, sell, sell over the next few years and that will have an impact that you cannot just ignore.
And besides, you clearly haven't look at any of the evidence in regards to the effect immigration has on house prices.
Could you get the bonus if your first house is in Belgium/Holland/France/Germany? Somewhere that's still likely to be affordable for real working people?
rickla
30 Nov 15#100
I think that the Nationwide "Save to Buy" that you refer to, is different from their "Hep to Buy" ISA that is being introduced tomorrow. Not sure the cashback offers you refer to will be included in the "Help to Buy" one - but we need to wait I think.
adamavfc
30 Nov 15#101
Could someone help me out?
I have £15k in an ISA at the moment with lloyds at about 0.25% from last year but haven't put anything into it this year, so I can open this new ISA up. Can I transfer that 15k into this new one as well as add funds for this new tax year?
I also have around £30k in Tesco online saver at about 1.2%.
What would be the best way to take full advantage of this in my situation?
Thanks!
rickla
30 Nov 15#103
Where can you get 4% for deposits over £2k?
jai47
30 Nov 15#105
I haven't read all 6 pages of comments, so apologies if this has already been asked...
Does this ISA still fall under the current yearly ISA limit of £15,240, as I have already opened an ISA this year, would I need to wait until April before considering a Help to Buy ISA?
tomatta to jai47
30 Nov 15#106
Yes you need to wait.
llocou to jai47
30 Nov 151#107
Yes you have to wait until April. You cannot pay into a Help to Buy ISA if you have already paid into an ISA this tax year.
fazered
30 Nov 151#108
I absolutely have seen those reports but takes look back at how quickly the prices recovered after the last housing crash. Hey I'm all up for a realistic housing market, I'm trying to buy a house after all. The problem is we have a supply problem and nothing the government or the housing market is threatening to do is going to change that significantly and prices will continue to grow. Yes a pricing correction looks likely but I don't think it will be far reaching or lasting.
DBoniface
30 Nov 15#110
can you get this even if your not looking to get a mortgage, i brought a house 3 months ago with my brother but have surplus savings if i can get 4% here no point in me over paying when they only charge 2.39% for my mortgage
bigpc2010
30 Nov 15#111
Do you have instant access to your money I dont want to be tied down when I'm ready to buy in 6 months. Great deal.
neonplanet40
30 Nov 15#112
Quick Question. You get a bonus in the first month as you can deposit more money. However, can you only deposit this extra amount in December 2015?
E.g. If I wait until May 2016 to open a Help to Buy ISA - Can I still put the extra amount in as its my first month? Or is it only for those who open in the very first month of this becoming available (Dec 15)?
Tino_G
30 Nov 15#113
Am I right in thinking to get the full £3000 bonus I will need to have the ISA for 5 years and have saved £12,000 in the ISA (minus 6 months if I deposit the maximum £1200 in the first month)? :confused:
Slash
30 Nov 15#114
Is this help to buy scheme limited to new build properties? And what is you deposit £12000 and ended up not buying and need the cash, do they force any limitations on you before you can withdraw?
If you have £12k (but not used your ISA allowance this year), can you just bung £12k into this new HtB ISA and get the bonus if you buy within next few months or is it there a qualification period?
jhyt89 to loofer
30 Nov 15#119
the scheme is explained quite clearly. You can lump max of £1,200 in your 1st month and then £200 for every month thereafter.
richohone
30 Nov 15#117
I guess the funny thing with this is, is that the government appear to be suggesting 15k is a good deposit. It's not. I've been saving for a fair while so I've already got 15k and I'm definitely not close to being able to afford property around here.
Abadi
30 Nov 15#120
So a 5 year plan for my daughter would be a £1000 deposit then £170 a month
So end of year 5 you would have around £15,469 for an investment of 11,200
* Correct me if I'm wrong please.
bobothebear
30 Nov 15#121
I'm doing this just to get the 4% Interest because there is no way I'll get a place where I live for less than £250k unless a miracle crash occurs.
I live in hope :disappointed:
jhyt89 to bobothebear
30 Nov 15#138
the equivalent interest you will end up getting is 2.7% after the 1st year if you save the maximum amount they allow.
snack_attack
30 Nov 151#122
Not true. Best savings rates are with hsbc, first direct and m&s bank with 6%.
Abadi
30 Nov 151#123
£1000 deposit and £200 a month gives you £17465 towards your house deposit after 5 years.
That's nearly 4.5k interest.... deal.... where do I sign.
ash4933 to Abadi
30 Nov 15#128
Them max any one person can save is £12,000 therefore £15,000 toward your deposit PP
rickla
30 Nov 152#124
These rates are only offered on regular saver type accounts with very limited balances.
Santander does offer 3% (gross) on up to £20k and that is probably just about the best deal if you can and wish to switch your current account. All the other deals are on relatively small balances.
For larger balances you are lucky to get 1.5% without a longer tie-up of your cash.
ChampionshipManager
30 Nov 15#125
Cold not for buy to let customers.
jordmista18
30 Nov 15#126
Correct me if I'm wrong..
But there's no guarantee Tories will be in power in 5 years? So what if Help to buy is abolished by another party before I get to finish saving? :disappointed:
chocci to jordmista18
30 Nov 15#127
I would stake my house the tories will still be in power in 5 years time :wink:
jordmista18
30 Nov 15#129
Haha I'll take you up on that bet, then should they no longer be in power I still got somewhere to live!
subashour
30 Nov 15#130
excellent reminder, thanks OP
Rjs37
30 Nov 15#131
If you can only pay into one ISA per year, then what about the monthly payments that'll be happening for the next five years?
Does that mean I wouldn't be able open up another ISA next tax year (and the four years after), because I'm paying into this one?
sportnsplat
30 Nov 15#132
Can I get one for my kids who are not 18?
snack_attack
30 Nov 15#133
A 6% savings account is a 6% savings account regardless of you're opinion on it being on 'very limited balances'. I save £800 per month into these accounts, £9600 by the end of the year is hardly a limited balance.
I have the santander 123 account, tsb plus account, nationwide flex direct, lloyds club account and so on and I'm earning between 3 and 5% interest on those accounts.
However, my priority is to earn the most money from my savings so I'll always put my money in to the highest paying savings/current account. If you're ignoring 6% regular savers in favour of 3% current accounts then you're practically throwing money down the drain.
schnide
30 Nov 15#134
Apologies if this has already been covered.. but what if you already have an ISA for 2015/16, given that you're only supposed to have one per year? Is this treated as something separate?
Edit: Just seen that Rjs37 has just posted the same question.. but would still like to know the answer!
Nikotime to schnide
30 Nov 15#136
You are not able to open this if you have already opened an ISA this tax year.
Meladt
30 Nov 15#135
Sorry i'm just being really stupid here :smile: buuuutttt......can someone explain this to me?
Abadi
30 Nov 15#137
Can't see that restriction - can you point me to where you read that please.
ash4933
30 Nov 15#139
It's a help to buy ISA for first time buyers ONLY. You are able to save £1200 when opening and then £200 a month there after. The maximum you can save is £12,000 which would take 5 years to reach. When you come to buy your first house the government will add on 25% to whatever you have saved. For example you save £12,000 for a deposit the government will give you 25% on to £3000 therefore your total deposit will be £15,000 for only saving £12,000. If you are buying a house with a partner you can both open a help to buy ISA. That's about it good luck haha
Abadi
30 Nov 15#140
Um have you forgotten the 4% interest !
Mentos
30 Nov 15#141
Would they still assess someone who has never owned a property but their Husband/Wife owns a property as a first time buyer?
rickla
30 Nov 15#142
You are right - I agree that they should not be ignored. However, what you are doing takes some time to manage, and the £9,600 you have in your regular savings accounts at year-end, is effectively £4,800 as far as earnng 6% interest goes. Which is much better than 1.5% but still on a relatively small balance.
Also I agree with you re. all the current accounts with decent savings rates (on limited balances other than the Santander). However this still takes a reasonable amount of admin. and organisation, and would still "only" cover maybe £30k or so. The extra interest (assuming you are not a tax-payer) might be around £600 per year.
I would still say that a safe investment to generate income is not easy to find.
MayorWest
30 Nov 15#143
Lloyds do 4% if you have between 4 and 5k.
anewman
30 Nov 15#144
The whole scheme is a con implemented by Gideon to help prop up the market for the wealthy, but got to be in it to take advantage of it I suppose.
anewman
30 Nov 15#145
Very easy to find if you already have a bit of money. It's called buy to let where you get a mortgage on a property and can count income from a property you don't yet own so have an advantage over other buyers, and rent it out for an exorbitant amount which makes other people unable to save for a deposit for their own place.
schnide
30 Nov 15#146
Nuts! Oh well, thanks for the info.
barbiegirl
30 Nov 15#147
If they reduced stamp duty to something sensible (or nothing!) that would create some slack in the system. Many people like myself just don't move out of their house to a bigger one - merely do a loft conversion as that's about the same cost as giving 4 or 5% of £600-£800k to the government for the privilege of undergoing the stress of moving house. (Londoner). So the "first houses" that people in their first flats might go on to buy, have a small supply. This knocks on down the chain IMO.
rickla
30 Nov 15#148
But not exactly risk-free
Abadi
30 Nov 15#149
Why 2.7%, could you expand on that please ?
VC1990
30 Nov 15#150
If you sign up for the Help to Buy ISA are you limited to buying a house under the help to buy scheme (new building sites 5% deposit etc) or can you put it towards any house? thanks
ash4933 to VC1990
30 Nov 15#155
Any house up to £250k outside London and up to £450k inside
ash4933 to VC1990
30 Nov 15#156
Any house up to £250k outside London and up to £450k inside
jdurler
30 Nov 15#151
The 4% interest they are offering - is that tax free?
sparkeeh to jdurler
30 Nov 15#160
Yes, that's literally the whole point of ISAs.
snack_attack to jdurler
30 Nov 1511#182
Honestly some of these questions just demonstrate what a poorly financially educated country we are. :confused:
It's an ISA. Of course it's tax free.
Well this is a help to buy ISA for FIRST time buyers. Having already bought a property, the next property you buy will be your SECOND property purchase. Based on that information (which you already knew), what do you think the answer is?
Mr Sime_Bardo deposits £1200 in the first month of his help to buy ISA account, followed by monthly payments of £200 until June 2016. Total = £2400. Add 4% to that and then a further 25%. Deduct £60 or thereabouts for the solicitor fee.
Repeat for Mrs Sime_Bardo.
I suspect you'll be better off.
One general point to add with regards to the Halifax offer, the 4% interest rate is variable. Expect an influx of several thousand customers over the next few weeks and I guarantee they'll reduce the rate within 6-12 months.
firsttimer1
30 Nov 15#152
I'm a first time buyer and just bought a flat. I've paid the mortgage for the past few months. Am I still eligible to get this?
Because of the limitations in the amount you can deposit. Max of £200 extra each month. So a quick excel calculation tells me that you would get £92 interest from £3400 of your money put into the scheme equating to about 2.7% of £3400. This is if you start by depositing £1200 in the 1st month and £200 for every month thereafter.
In year 2, you will have put in £2400 and received £188, which gives a return of 7.8%. So it gets better in the long run.
Torchwood
30 Nov 15#157
HTB is a bung to house builders. Nothing else. House builders will just increase the prices to account for the government subsidy.
kharma45 to Torchwood
30 Nov 15#158
Still better to have this than not regardless of people's theories.
chocci
30 Nov 15#159
You are assuming 1 person per house. I thought they went for 10 per house :wink:
Abadi
30 Nov 15#162
A few worked examples (assuming 4% and usage rules)
£1000 deposit and £200 a month gives you £17460 after 5 years.
£1000 deposit and £200 a month gives you £14430 after 4 years.
£1000 deposit and £200 a month gives you £10920 after 3 years.
No deposit and £200 a month gives you £16240 after 5 years.
No deposit and £100 a month gives you £8255 after 5 years.
Torchwood
30 Nov 15#163
I disagree, I'd rather pay less for a house in the first place, rather than my taxes be used to subsidise prices or bail out the banks.
foxhound
30 Nov 153#164
Another useless tory initiative, we live in surrey and by the time we both have saved the max isa amount and are eligible for the £3000 each, the price of a one bedroom house/flat would be greater than £250,000 which would make the isa savings invalid!
Abadi to foxhound
30 Nov 151#166
Obviously if you can afford to buy now then you don't need this account - doh
I can't imagine house prices would rise 25% in 5 years - which is the hand-out you get from this deal.
jhyt89
30 Nov 152#165
exactly. this is actually false economy for the buyer. We get an extra 4k after 5 years and by that time house prices will have rise £50k.
jomay
30 Nov 15#167
You are funny - where do I get a house for £12000? Because that's exactly the amount that I get 5% on... your comparison does not add up at all.
Sime_Bardo
30 Nov 15#168
What are the gains if me and my partner already have a £8k deposit saved and looking to buy a house in sort of June 2016 time?
The biggest saving with this scheme seems to be over the 4 / 5 years time.
Abadi
30 Nov 151#169
You don't, this is for the deposit on a house - you are getting 25% bonus. So if you don't have enough for the deposit now - this will help.
jomay
30 Nov 151#170
HTB is a completely absurd Tory policy to prop up house prices. (I'm not pro Labour either...)
Tories are allegedly for free markets. Free markets would do the work and lower house prices if the Tories allowed for more building zones and created a bigger supply for homes (e.g. by social housing), and disincentivise land banking. Instead they interfere with the housing market and deliberately push up prices. HTB clearly props up current home owners, not first time buyers...
foxhound
30 Nov 15#171
Regardless of if you have a deposit now or not, if the house you put the deposit towards buying (now or 10 years later) is greater than 250K you do not get the 25% bonus towards the deposit! Certain areas in the UK, like ours, outside London, a one bedroom house will cost £250K in a years time! So this scheme, although is attractive and would at least pay the stamp duty, solicitor fees etc, is completely useless due to the minimum threshold!
Sime_Bardo
30 Nov 15#172
What are the gains if me and my partner already have a £8k deposit saved and looking to buy a house in sort of June 2016 time?
The biggest saving with this scheme seems to be over the 4 / 5 years time.
GreyWales to Sime_Bardo
30 Nov 151#173
Put the max each in when you set up and then max monthly until you're ready to buy in June time.
You're getting 25% free no matter when you buy - just the less interest as not saving over the 5 years.
You will only get max £2,000 each in the accounts by that date but that is an extra £500 each to put towards your deposit :smiley:
An effectively free £1,000 in 6 months months isn't bad going I'd say :smiley:
jomay
30 Nov 15#174
I was trying to explain why your calculation made no sense. If house prices went up by 25% in 5 years then you would still not be even by using this scheme.
A house of £100k going up by 25% in 5 years => you need £25k more.
HTB ISA => total gain ~£5-6k in 5 years.
In other words, if house prices are going up further then the best advise is to buy now. But nobody knows what the property market will do. In that sense I agree - this is a good deal.
Slash
30 Nov 15#175
Can you withdraw the cash anytime you want without penalties?
foxhound to Slash
30 Nov 15#176
Nope, you can only use the money towards a house. Its not money you will see in your account. When you buy your first house, your solicitor will have to apply for the "interest" you have accumulated!
DragonQ
30 Nov 15#177
Can't use it for buying a house since I live in an area with London prices but no London monetary benefits. However, 4% is still 4% and obviously I'd still earn interest and can still take the money out whenever.
DragonQ
30 Nov 151#178
Completely untrue, you shouldn't state things so matter-of-factly when you don't know what you're talking about. It's a normal instant-access ISA, the only difference is you get a government bonus (based on how much is in the account) upon closing the account IF you use it for buying a first property.
You don't HAVE to use these accounts for property deposits. Obviously there are other restrictions like the £200/mo deposit limit (£1200 in the first month).
Ad86
30 Nov 15#179
I have my (our) savings in a cash isa in my name. My partner hasn't paid into a isa this year so there's nothing to stop her opening one of these accounts and me transferring money across?
foxhound
30 Nov 15#180
Perhaps I didn't explain clearly, what I meant was you cannot withdraw the so called government deposit. Like you said, he/she can only use it towards a first time buy property!
anewman
30 Nov 151#181
It is completely risk free if you diversify your property portfolio. This is why the greedy have all jumped on the gravy train and so many properties are privately rented.
Slash
30 Nov 15#184
Thanks for the clarification. So if I run out of money after 1 year and cannot afford a house, I can close the account without giving any notice to get all the money I deposited and the 4% interest?
DragonQ
30 Nov 15#185
Ah right, that makes more sense.
Yes, assuming it's an instant-access ISA...and I think all of the help-to-buy ISAs are.
stradle
30 Nov 15#186
For people who have already contributed in to an ISA this year -
I have just been on the phone to First Direct - who I currently have an ISA which have paid to in to this financial year.
They said that I should not close it at the moment, because apparently you cannot pay in/open another. And also they are still waiting on the regulations from the Government about what to do with people who have already paid in to one, whether they are going to have to wait until April or not.
Based on that, it seems that it is better to wait and see whether your current bank who you have an ISA with will offer something soon and allow you to transfer the money from your current one in to a HTB ISA. Their is probably more chance of that than being able to close one and open one of these.
DragonQ to stradle
30 Nov 15#187
Yes, this is a standard ISA rule. You can only deposit NEW money into ONE cash ISA (including HTB ISAs) per tax year. You can transfer existing ISA money between ISAs as much as you want but most ISAs with good rates don't allow transfers in.
jhyt89
30 Nov 152#188
it would help if you got the bonus right now. But the fact is you have to long it out over 5 years. So you are basically getting £1k a year when house prices are increasing £10k a year. Think about it!
jhyt89
30 Nov 15#189
the thing is if we were all financially literate then the banks wouldn't be able to fool people and make money. the banks take advantage of ignorance and idiocy.
morrig
30 Nov 151#190
The market is completly stuffed and can not imagine any goverment doing any thing to correct it.
Am amazed with the amount of population increase that it actually gets people a roof for the majority to live under.
When even a previous labor PM has a valuable property portfolio goes to show how deep the problem.
What with all the nimbys and the greenbelt(have to protect the views from my manor house etc and sod the people wanting a house law)I'm lucky? to be living in a poor area and able to afford a terrace.
Rant over.
DragonQ
30 Nov 151#191
That's a pointless argument though. If you're saving to buy a house and won't be able to afford one for 5 years, the you can either use a HTB ISA (and get some extra cash to help) or...not use one. The alternative choice isn't to simply buy a house now since they're cheaper than they will be in 5 years!
Even people who are looking to buy right now would benefit a bit - shove in £1200, then £200 for two months, and get a free £400 from the government.
jhyt89
30 Nov 15#192
I get your point as if you treat it like a savings account. But this is the govt's solution to helping homebuyers yet they aren't addressing the rising house prices. So the net effect even with this is that you will be paying 9k more next year than this year. So essentially the tax payer is subsidising the sellers.
DragonQ
30 Nov 15#193
Well I agree with that, the housing market is a joke that benefits the few (landlords) and hurts the masses.
yogi_bear_s15
30 Nov 153#194
Ironically. If it takes 5 years to save your 12k for the measly extra 3k the gov will add.
At the current market inflation, the house you thought you could afford 5 years ago is now 20k more expensive!
This scheme is flawed. More effort needs to be put into building be damn things so there is less demand.
Abadi
30 Nov 15#195
No - it's not there dude. The max is 1000 then monthly 200 - the max you can get back at the end is 3000
foxhound
30 Nov 151#196
If the government really want to help first time buyers, why don't they scrap stamp duty for first time buyers! Don't have to wait for 5 years and it is relative to the house prices!
rickla
30 Nov 15#197
Sorry - that's just not true. And even if it were, not an option unless you have serious money.
Cazbat1978
30 Nov 15#198
Can you then buy a new build with help to buy scheme & 5% builders deposit?
ash4933
30 Nov 15#199
Yeah if you work backwards, if the maximum you can get back at the end is £3000. £3000 is 25% of the maximum you can save which is £12,000
Abadi
30 Nov 15#200
But 12,000 is NOT the maximum, you have interest at 4% - so after 5 years the amount you have is 14,465.
Then on top of that another 3,000.
The maximum you have towards your deposit will be 17465 as I said at the start. !!
It really isn't that difficult to understand - I dunno, perhaps you are just trying to be awkward.
bumbaclart
30 Nov 15#201
Is Nationwide not a better deal, although you get 2%, you can still invest the remaining ISA allowance into a cash isa.
malkin94
30 Nov 151#202
I'm guessing not because from what I've seen you can have multiple ISAs open under the same save to buy at nationwide. This will mean you can get the 1000 bonus from saving 5 grand faster as you can fill the other isa to boost the cash up, you wont be held back by the monthly deposit.
Have messaged them and received this response so far. Seems promising. Seems the 1250 may be per person and the 500 per mortgage.
Will update as get more info.
malkin94
30 Nov 15#203
Maybe yea, better accounts than the other nationwide ISAs for lumpsum rates though
mcdexsta
30 Nov 151#204
Daft? No... Not at all. I doubt you actually see very much of your money.
adamsxi
30 Nov 15#205
No such thing as risk free!
MayorWest
30 Nov 151#206
Measly? It's a 25% return over 4 years. What planet are you on where that isn't a good investment?!
chocci
30 Nov 15#207
Tories, damned if they do, damned if they don't
What's your alternative solution?
chocci
30 Nov 151#208
You seriously think that you should get the bonus now? I really do despair for the future of this country with this entitlement mentality THINK ABOUT IT!
chocci
30 Nov 15#209
Doh
They did a few years ago for the first k125k. Average house price 186k at the time. All it did was fuel the market
Keep up
I love how all the people who predicted 30% falls in 2008 onwards are absent from this thread
House prices are only going one way for the foreseeable future and its not down while we have 360,000 new citizens every year. I do actually feel sorry for the hard working youth of today as they have little chance of buying a home.
jhyt89
30 Nov 15#210
No I did not say that. I said, it would only be helpful if we did get it.
What I think we are entitled to is affordable housing that does not rise by 10 times the average salary per year.
jhyt89
30 Nov 151#211
to build more houses and to put a limit to sales to investors from abroad, and tax second home buyers more. People do not need a second home and if they do, well in this climate, they should pay more for it. Most who do have them as an investment.
Its a nice idea but charities dont do direct debit. Ive signed up to loads online and they always turn out to be standing orders rather than direct debits. Its annoying.
Back to this deal. Im advised that you cant open a Help to Buy Isa PLUS a cash ISA in the same year.
If I open a Help to Buy can I still add money to my existing ISAs from previous years? I've got a few ISAs with the old limit of around 5k in so I'd want to be topping those up to whatever my allowance would be.
Adding ISA to help2buy ISA: I'd imagine but im unsure if you could add your previous to this. Just don't expect the 4% interest on the whole amount, banks aren't stupid (mostly) & have to be realistic.
kharma45
30 Nov 15#216
Always thought about this but then my morals come into play when using charities and the cost they have with a direct debit. Still, I'm sure I could get over the guilt...
and you will owe me my house value if tories retain power - about £600,000 and going up by about £3000 a month lol
jordmista18
1 Dec 15#220
Lol, you staked your house.. I didn't offer anything
chocci
1 Dec 15#221
obviously its a like for like bet :smiley:
kharma45
1 Dec 15#222
That's who I went for
aaaronlucas
1 Dec 15#223
Surely you can take advantage of this if there' two of you saving? Have this along with the rest of your money towards a house? It's not one or the other.
AlexNCL
1 Dec 15#224
So far the best offer AER-wise. Tempted to transfer one of my accounts to Halifax just for this.
MayorWest
1 Dec 15#225
I opened one of these this morning.
Disappointing that the maximum deposit is the £1k initial + £200 per month.
I tried adding more thinking that the 4% would apply to anything on top and it wouldn't allow me.
Maybe naive but there we go. Thought you should all know.
A13
1 Dec 15#226
You can transfer your ISA to nationwide and open the H2B ISA alongside it.
chocci
1 Dec 15#227
The major drawback I see is if you have more than £200 a month to save as you cannot put savings in any other cash isa
max investment is £3400 at 4% whereas you can put up to £15240 in other cash ISAs and get around 3%
so if you can save a lot, then anything you save over £3400 will be taxable
AlexNCL
1 Dec 15#228
If you look on the nationwide thread, there are plenty of examples provided where to deposit money (non-ISA) for 4%+ which makes it even more profitable despite taxes. Yes, plenty of hassle but once you set it all up you don't have to do anything
kachopra
1 Dec 15#229
So in short as it stands for people that have contributed to a cash ISA this year so far: we can't apply for this?
noobfish
1 Dec 15#230
As a HSBC customer who has already paid into a (2 year old) ISA this year, am I right in thinking I have to wait until April now?
Their website says I cannot have 'subscribed' to another ISA this tax year...
A13
1 Dec 151#231
You can if you transfer it all to a Nationwide ISA and open the Help to Buy ISA alongside it.
noobfish
1 Dec 15#232
Thanks very much for your reply, I'll look into doing this :smiley:
A13
1 Dec 151#233
I've literally just done the same thing, i've got an ISA with First Direct/HSBC which i've had and 'renewed' for the last few years. Basically transferring a big lump sum to their Instant ISA Saver, with £1,200 of the transferred amount moving to the Help to Buy ISA alongside it.
noobfish
1 Dec 15#234
That's great news, thanks! I thought I'd missed out. Ill do the exact same tonight. On a side note...if Nationwide can do it why cant HSBC!!
dtj90
1 Dec 15#235
I get that you can't open up another ISA in the same year for the rest of your savings, but if you opened a help-to-buy ISA now, then in April could you open up another cash ISA and put the rest of your savings in there? e.g.
Now: open help-to-buy put £1000 in and deposit £200p/m
April: open normal cash ISA and deposit the rest of savings in there?
Abadi
1 Dec 15#236
Yes to both BUT from April you would not be able to add to the help-to-buy ISA for the remainder of the financial year.
Look at stocks and shares ISA for April perhaps - rules are different.
fishleg
2 Dec 15#237
Can someone answer this please...
If I'm saving for a year only before I have enough and I want to use the goverments help to buy scheme where they give you a interest free loan and top up your deposit. Can I use this isa and get around £850 bonus for then year plus then use the help to buy equity loan scheme?
yas212
2 Dec 15#238
all these incentives come in less than a year after I buy my first house with the hubby. Could have saved £6,000 under the new stamp duty rules - now this!
Cazbat1978
2 Dec 15#239
I asked this too! I can not see why not pop to your nearest new build show homes and ask the sales lady also remember new homes are negotiable in price I got 10k off the asking price on mine with persimmons and some extra finishings thrown in before I handed over my deposit check.
DownUGo
2 Dec 15#240
After saving £12000 you get a return of 36.75% too :wink: 4 years 7 months though...
jhyt89
2 Dec 15#241
my figures were interest only!
jhyt89
2 Dec 15#242
but think about the price rise of the same house you bought since.
ash4933
2 Dec 15#243
Yes you definitely can
DownUGo
2 Dec 15#244
ahh i included the bonus too :P
Mind looking at my savings plan?
Change my current account to Nationwides flexdirect earning 5%gross on £2500.
Open Halifax help to buy ISA earning 4%net and gaining the bonus, paying £200 a month.
Open HSBC regular saver earning 6%gross, paying £250 a month (unable to withdraw).
Open First Direct regular savings earning 6%gross, paying £300 a month (unable to withdraw).
Open Nationwide Flexclusive regular saver earning 5%gross, paying £500 a month.
Close the 3 saver accounts once their 12month promotional offer is up.
Might seem a lot but I have some savings sitting in my current account doing nothing which I would combine with my excess income.
Thoughts?
jhyt89
2 Dec 15#245
haha I am no financial adviser. But as long as you aren't looking for a mortgage in 12 months time go for it.
yas212
3 Dec 15#246
That is true, it's stupid London prices so around 50,000 :-/
fishleg
3 Dec 152#247
Have people missed that your tied up with halifax with nationwide you can open two isa's. So one save to buy isa £3600 in year one at 2% plus a normal isa up to using rest of allowence for that year at £11400 1.6%.
Obviously depends how much your saving but if its over £3600 i think nationwide is better as you have more options.
jhyt89
3 Dec 15#248
if you have that much to save you are better off using the santander 123 with 3% gross.
fishleg
3 Dec 15#249
True but i dare not open another account been through 4 this year switching ><. Dont santander charge you a sub wont that eat the 3%?
chocci
3 Dec 15#250
This is what I didn't get. ISA funding rules are determined by hmrc . Who are Halifax to dictate that you can't invest your remaining allowance in another cash ISA?
hismum
3 Dec 15#251
Can you stick £12,000 in immediately and keep it there for the year? Or can you only put a certain amount in at a time?
davebruno91
3 Dec 15#252
Just opened one with Halifax, it says max opening transfer is £1000 so do I open with £1000 then send another £200 seperate or do I just open with the whole £1200, bit confused..
sparkeeh
3 Dec 15#253
I tried to transfer the 1200 at once and it rejected it, yet two seperate transfers of 1000 and 200 quid respectively went through fine. Hope that helps! Not being funny, but this kind of info is in the description. Even a cursory glance would give you these answers.
chocci
3 Dec 15#254
bear in mind nationwide are only paying 2%
chocci
3 Dec 15#255
did you even attempt to read the deal?
jhyt89
3 Dec 15#256
yes but I still get £40 net interest each month although they are increasing the fee to £5 in january. But you get cashback on your bills etc if they are paid by direct debit from Santander. Really depends on what type of outgoings you have.
jhyt89
3 Dec 15#257
its comments like this that make me wonder if people can read or if they are just lazy.
Abadi
3 Dec 15#258
Those are the HMRC rules, not determines at all by Halifax. You cannot fund 2 cash ISA's in the same financial year.
EDIT: I appear to be wrong, so ignore me - some providers do this treating them as a single ISA.
chocci
3 Dec 15#259
so how are the nationwide getting away with letting you do it?
If you’re 16 or over you can open an account (provided you meet the eligibility criteria†), with an initial deposit of up to £1,200, and then make further contributions of up to £200 per calendar month. (You can contribute to another Nationwide cash ISA product at the same time, as long as you don't exceed your total ISA tax-free savings allowance each year.)
I reckon this HMRC rules have changed to allow for this but Halfiax seem to be ignoring them.
Abadi
3 Dec 152#260
I found this quote on an MSE forum... So it looks like you can but Halifax don't - I am surprised.
"ISA managers are allowed to treat multiple ISA accounts held by them as a single ISA for reporting purposes, so you are allowed to split your cash ISA subscriptions between different accounts with the same provider as long as they allow it (not all do). "
malkin94
3 Dec 15#261
I'm still yet to understand if you can also open the save to buy isa, as you could get a grand cashback when use that account for a deposit with 10 gs in. I've applied for the htbisa but the process seems way slower than Halifax (opened Mrs there and paid in immediately).
From what I've read, you close this account (htbisa) before applying and show the solicitor the closing statement when applying for the mortgage to get the bonus. Because of this, you could close this account and move the money into the save to buy isa to also boost your cashback, as the cashback is determined by your balance at time of application (mse had a bunch of confirmations that they've moved the cash last min and get the higher cashback).
Just waiting out nationwides long process
sparkeeh
3 Dec 15#262
Except theres a 200 quid monthly pay in limit to the HTB, be that money from your cash ISA or your own money. Good plan, but fatally scuppered by that rule I'm afraid.
malkin94
3 Dec 15#263
The save to buy isa is another isa product, I'm aware you can still open cash isa with nationwide after opening
This is what I mean by close the HTBisa and put that money in the save to buy isa, you'll get the bonus from HTBisa and the cashback for the save to buy.
sawsa
3 Dec 152#264
Total rubbish. Takes 4.25 years to get £3k. In which time houses prices will have gone up how much? Don't even get me started on how bad the Help to Buy scheme is...
seaniboy
4 Dec 15#265
Given property prices he will be able to move out after he inherits and sells...
sparkeeh
4 Dec 15#266
Hmm, guess it will become more clear over the forthcoming months how it works in practice in terms of getting the bonus, what the solicitor needs etc
Hope you're right, but my impression from Martin Lewis was that money would need to go direct from HTBISA to the deposit. Definitely worth clarifying though, because missing out on that 25% bonus would be gutting. Nobody knows for sure, and I'd imagine the final details are still being worked out.
sparklehedgehog
4 Dec 15#267
Bankers Cum, you really think it isn't a good idea to help people afford their own home?!
God help you
dodoegg1
5 Dec 15#268
1) If I decide to take the money out (i.e not use it to buy a house), will it have accrued any interest or do I just get my money back?
2) I will have approx £9,000 to put in an ISA this year. According to MSE the nationwide help to buy ISA will allow me to open a separate ISA too and use up my full 15,000 allowance; whereas the Halifax Help to Buy does not allow for a 2nd ISA to be opened in the same financial year.
My question is would it be better to open the Halifax help to buy at 4% or the lower interest Nationwide and put the remainder of my money in another nationwide ISA? Which will earn me the most interest?
malkin94
5 Dec 15#269
I'd imagine so. Remember interest is paid yearly too. I also don't know if you'd be able to eventually use it towards a deposit too as you'd have the closing statement as well.
You gotta do your own workings out mate, everyone wins differently. If you have 9k day one, you'd earn 92 quid off the 4% I year 1 (ending with 3491 on the anniversary). The remainder of this (5600) in a 3% 123 account (calculated with no tax as should be able to get interest tax free from april) would earn you around 215. And remember this will be under what you actually earn because it's not taking into account the extra 2.4k earning 3% on day one whilst it drip feeds out over the year.
The ISA with 2% would net you 46 quid over the year (half funnily enough). If you had the other cash in another of nationwides offerings (at around 1.6%), you'd earn 86 quid.
So I guess don't chose the lower rate based on the ability to put more cash in to an even lower rate. ISA rates suck and you can get better from current accounts at the minute.
laboudi
6 Dec 15#270
Agree......."help to buy" is nothing but "help builders to sell at super inflated prices"
annedawso
6 Dec 15#271
My son and his girlfriend are going to do this as not thinking of buying a house for a couple of years and they both have some savings.
Seems to me the ones it will help most those who can afford to save or who have parents who will pay it for them.
I imagine there will be a lot of people who can't afford to save and will never get on the housing ladder.
Would have thought Government would have been better to invest in affordable housing schemes with low deposits that could possibly benefit those caught paying high rent now and not afford to save.
tomatta
7 Dec 15#272
Has anyone opened one of these? I did and deposited the initial £1000, but it then kicked me out of my account until I entered an activation code sent in the post.
I have now signed back on but I can't find any option for setting up the monthly payment for the £200?
chocci
8 Dec 15#273
Set up a standing order from the sending account
sparkeeh
21 Oct 16#274
In case anyone hasn't heard, the Halifax HTB ISA is cutting its interest rate to 3.5% from 8th December. Still trumps the best available on the market at the moment though which are around 2.27%
eacesar
22 Oct 16#275
The drop from 4pc to 3.5pc only applies to those who opened when it was launched with a 4pc interest.
If you're to open one Help to Buy today with Halifax, the interest is just 2%
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Opening post
Halifax will be offering the market-leader on rate for the Help to Buy ISA.Halifax will offer its Help to Buy ISA at 4% AER from Tuesday.
Halifax has launched a table-topping Help to Buy Isa rate for first-time buyers looking to build a mortgage deposit.
Help to Buy ISAs are a no-brainer if you're saving for a deposit for an eligible home. It's a tax-free savings product in which the Government adds 25% on top of whatever you've saved
Anyone can get one, as long as you're a first-time buyer or plan to be in the future. You can open one anytime between 1 December 2015 and December 2019. A first-time buyer is someone who doesn't own (and hasn't ever owned) an interest in a residential property, either inside or outside the UK, whether it was bought or inherited.
The Help to Buy Isa has been created to provide a tax-free savings account for first-time buyers to save for deposit, boosted by a government bonus.
First-time buyers can save £200 each month and the government provides a 25 per cent bonus on the interest and contributions once the product is closed.
However, the bonus is set at a maximum of £3,000 so the maximum that can be saved to benefit from the bonus is £12,000.
How much government top-up you'll get
Amount in Help to Buy ISA - Bonus Added
£1,600 (the minimum to get bonus) - £400
£2,000 - £500
£3,000 - £750
£4,000 -£1,000
£5,000 - £1,250
£6,000 - £1,500
£7,000 - £1,750
£8,000 - £2,000
£9,000 - £2,250
£10,000 - £2,500
£11,000 - £2,750
£12,000 - £3,000
PLUS 4% Interest a year for the amount in the ISA
So at the point you use the ISA to buy your first home, all the money you have put in and the interest will have 25% added to it, with two exceptions:
- You need to have at least £1,600 saved to get the bonus (so you'd get £400 extra).
- The most you'll get the bonus on is £12,000 (so a £3,000 bonus). If you have more than that, you can still use the ISA to save, you just won't get more than £3,000 on top.
Will update the link soon :)
Live 01/12 http://www.halifax.co.uk/isas/cash-isas/help-to-buy-isa/
- malkin94
Top comments
Also, you may have wanted to use a hyphen in your username. #justsayin
It's an ISA. Of course it's tax free.
Well this is a help to buy ISA for FIRST time buyers. Having already bought a property, the next property you buy will be your SECOND property purchase. Based on that information (which you already knew), what do you think the answer is?
Mr Sime_Bardo deposits £1200 in the first month of his help to buy ISA account, followed by monthly payments of £200 until June 2016. Total = £2400. Add 4% to that and then a further 25%. Deduct £60 or thereabouts for the solicitor fee.
Repeat for Mrs Sime_Bardo.
I suspect you'll be better off.
One general point to add with regards to the Halifax offer, the 4% interest rate is variable. Expect an influx of several thousand customers over the next few weeks and I guarantee they'll reduce the rate within 6-12 months.
All comments (275)
You can open the isa with a deposit of £1200. If you are able to save more than the £200 a month then it might best to get the £1200 the deposit together before opening.
House value maximum is £250,000 and £450,000 in London.
You can't add to a cash ISA and a Save To Buy in the same year.
It's a personal ISA so if you are a couple you can have one each and get a £6000 maximum but you'd be looking at 4.5 years of saving to get it and houses will be way more expensive by then.
If you were cynical you'd say the government have timed the Help to Buy ISA to coincide with this as they know home owners are more likely to vote for them in future.
You will receive the money when you get a mortgage. You wont even see it.
*** A first time buyer is someone who has not had a mortgage in the last three years preceding the opening of the account. A home mover is someone who is moving home and have been party to a mortgage in the last three years. Any existing mortgage(s) must be repaid or, for existing Nationwide mortgages, may be ported, on completion of the Save to Buy mortgage.
Also more to it than just the rate such as the withdrawal rules etc
If you don't buy a house you do keep the interest in this case 4% from the bank but don't receive the bonus.
Can you elaborate on your point?
Also, you may have wanted to use a hyphen in your username. #justsayin
Not so great for other first time buyers who are older and wish to save more than £200 a month and buy quicker
http://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/support-articles/important-information/help-to-buy-isa
The best savings rate at the moment is 5% up to 2k with TSB but over that you're looking at 4% and lower.
Why do you think there will be better than this? This looks as good as it gets to me.
For example I save only £8000 in 5 years but go on to save £12000, would I only be entitled to a £2000 bonus or the full £3000?
This is a great scheme for first time buyers and I will be taking full advantage of this, even if it's only for 12 months when we'll hopefully be ready to buy!!
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/413899/Help_to_Buy_ISA_Guidance.pdf
http://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/how-does-it-work
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/help-to-buy-ISA
Can any one enlighten me on something,
Do you have to have a bank account with the bank to open a H2B ISA?
Can I stay with my bank but take advantage of the Halifax rate?
Do you think it's possible to open this saving account and when you eventually buy, buy from the share to buy government scheme, or those schemes are mutually exclusive?
Thanks!
:smiley:
Nationwide is the only contender atm with "The building society is also offering up to £1,750 cashback for anyone who goes on to use its Save to Buy Mortgage range of products. This is made up of £1,000 cashback on savings of £5,000, £500 cashback on mortgages and £250 if you open a Flexclusive current account." (sauce)
Debating it but not sure if it's worth the 2% and committing to nationwide. Believe the 500 quid would only be per mortgage rather than account, not sure about the grand though, but nationwide also allows you to open an umbrella ISA and use the remainder of your yearly allowance whilst still being classes as one ISA if I read correctly. May be worth one account with nationwide for potential cashback and ability to dump more money in and another account with Halifax for the higher %. Reap rewards of both then I guess.
As others have said, come a bit late for me, but well worth transferring money in from other savings for as long as possible for a little boost.
Let's see the other offerings!
What I don't get about this ISA is by the time you've saved £12k and got your £3k top-up, the prices will have risen by that much easily.
Perhaps fine if you are outside of the South East/London area though.
I'm using this scheme for 3 months before a house purchase and cashing out. Bags us, as a couple, £800... can't complain!
My Mrs would technically be a first time buyer as she's never bought a house in her name. Even though she has no intention of buying a house she'll definitely be opening one of these on Tuesday purely because of the interest rate.
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/mar/18/how-will-osbornes-help-to-buy-isa-work-for-first-time-buyers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/isas/11490332/Beware-the-trap-with-Help-to-Buy-Isas.html
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/savings/2015/03/budget-2015-help-to-buy-isas-to-launch
More positively if your cash isa is small in value (<1200) I think you can transfer it in and this article (BBC) suggusts you may be able to close your opened cash isa and still do this one (if that works out sensible £ wise). Good luck.
As an aside, the bonus that is released by the solicitor when you complete, is that amount added to your deposit or deducted from your mortgage? Will that bonus be considered on the mortgage repayment rates? Or is the bonus released on completion and you can use it as you wish; a holiday or home improvements?
The Tories have no intention of changing the status quo because too many of them benefit from it.
On average, my house has risen £16,000 per year for 20 years and forecast to rise£35,000 next year alone :confused:
My dream of selling up and leaving the UK has been put on hold whilst Spanish property prices keep falling and UK prices keep rising
With Nationwide I can open a save-to-buy ISA @ 2% AER & a cash 3-year ISA @ 3% AER in the same tax year and add to both, essentially getting 5% AER.
With Halifax I can only open a save-to-buy ISA @ 4%.
So Nationwide seems better correct?
Did some math, and Halifax is better, but only if I can't put in more than the £200 max. If I can save more than £335 then Nationwide is better. Math below;
Halifax: £200 x 4% = £8
Nationwide: (£200 x 2% = £4) + (£135 x 3% = £4.05) = £8.05
Haven't added the Halifax bonus, and need to find out if Nationwide offer bonuses.
You are only allowed to pay into one ISA per year
So you have:
an increase in supply from that + any other housing that's built.
a reasonable proportion of btl landlords selling off properties to avoid tax changes between 2017 and 20
Less buy to let lending because of a) more regulation, b) higher rates because of Basel, c) 3% extra stamp duty
Then there's also the distinct possibility that the BoE will increase rates, which will again make buy to let more expensive.
Maybe the increase in FTBs will increase demand and balance out all these supply side issues but I honestly think house prices will come down as btl was a major reason why they went up in the first place.
Edit: as I forgot to add the effect from the cooling of the London housing market. The top end of this already crashed somewhat about a year ago (papers were very quiet about it) and there's definitely been a lot less money coming into it from overseas buyers, particularly after what happened in China and the tumbling oil price.
+ don't forget that regulation in the PRS has been on the increase lately. HMO licencing schemes being a case in point.
It's good for the short term as in 3 months you can save £1600 & get £400 kickback.
But schemes like this, Help to buy, etc. is not going to fix the problem of unaffordable homes.
How are key public workers like nurses & teachers expected to earn enough to buy a home close to their work?
So up to £6k for a couple, if both have never owned a property.
If it benefits you in the short term, by all means do it. But my point about the long term aspect of it still holds true obviously.
350,000 increase in net immigration per year.
400,000 new homes built over 4 years.
the maths don't add up
And besides, you clearly haven't look at any of the evidence in regards to the effect immigration has on house prices.
http://www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/migrants-and-housing-uk-experiences-and-impacts
I see what you mean....,, anyway great find
I have £15k in an ISA at the moment with lloyds at about 0.25% from last year but haven't put anything into it this year, so I can open this new ISA up. Can I transfer that 15k into this new one as well as add funds for this new tax year?
I also have around £30k in Tesco online saver at about 1.2%.
What would be the best way to take full advantage of this in my situation?
Thanks!
Does this ISA still fall under the current yearly ISA limit of £15,240, as I have already opened an ISA this year, would I need to wait until April before considering a Help to Buy ISA?
E.g. If I wait until May 2016 to open a Help to Buy ISA - Can I still put the extra amount in as its my first month? Or is it only for those who open in the very first month of this becoming available (Dec 15)?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/help-to-buy-ISA
So end of year 5 you would have around £15,469 for an investment of 11,200
* Correct me if I'm wrong please.
I live in hope :disappointed:
That's nearly 4.5k interest.... deal.... where do I sign.
Santander does offer 3% (gross) on up to £20k and that is probably just about the best deal if you can and wish to switch your current account. All the other deals are on relatively small balances.
For larger balances you are lucky to get 1.5% without a longer tie-up of your cash.
But there's no guarantee Tories will be in power in 5 years? So what if Help to buy is abolished by another party before I get to finish saving? :disappointed:
Does that mean I wouldn't be able open up another ISA next tax year (and the four years after), because I'm paying into this one?
I have the santander 123 account, tsb plus account, nationwide flex direct, lloyds club account and so on and I'm earning between 3 and 5% interest on those accounts.
However, my priority is to earn the most money from my savings so I'll always put my money in to the highest paying savings/current account. If you're ignoring 6% regular savers in favour of 3% current accounts then you're practically throwing money down the drain.
Edit: Just seen that Rjs37 has just posted the same question.. but would still like to know the answer!
You are right - I agree that they should not be ignored. However, what you are doing takes some time to manage, and the £9,600 you have in your regular savings accounts at year-end, is effectively £4,800 as far as earnng 6% interest goes. Which is much better than 1.5% but still on a relatively small balance.
Also I agree with you re. all the current accounts with decent savings rates (on limited balances other than the Santander). However this still takes a reasonable amount of admin. and organisation, and would still "only" cover maybe £30k or so. The extra interest (assuming you are not a tax-payer) might be around £600 per year.
I would still say that a safe investment to generate income is not easy to find.
It's an ISA. Of course it's tax free.
Well this is a help to buy ISA for FIRST time buyers. Having already bought a property, the next property you buy will be your SECOND property purchase. Based on that information (which you already knew), what do you think the answer is?
Mr Sime_Bardo deposits £1200 in the first month of his help to buy ISA account, followed by monthly payments of £200 until June 2016. Total = £2400. Add 4% to that and then a further 25%. Deduct £60 or thereabouts for the solicitor fee.
Repeat for Mrs Sime_Bardo.
I suspect you'll be better off.
One general point to add with regards to the Halifax offer, the 4% interest rate is variable. Expect an influx of several thousand customers over the next few weeks and I guarantee they'll reduce the rate within 6-12 months.
In year 2, you will have put in £2400 and received £188, which gives a return of 7.8%. So it gets better in the long run.
£1000 deposit and £200 a month gives you £17460 after 5 years.
£1000 deposit and £200 a month gives you £14430 after 4 years.
£1000 deposit and £200 a month gives you £10920 after 3 years.
No deposit and £200 a month gives you £16240 after 5 years.
No deposit and £100 a month gives you £8255 after 5 years.
I can't imagine house prices would rise 25% in 5 years - which is the hand-out you get from this deal.
The biggest saving with this scheme seems to be over the 4 / 5 years time.
Tories are allegedly for free markets. Free markets would do the work and lower house prices if the Tories allowed for more building zones and created a bigger supply for homes (e.g. by social housing), and disincentivise land banking. Instead they interfere with the housing market and deliberately push up prices. HTB clearly props up current home owners, not first time buyers...
The biggest saving with this scheme seems to be over the 4 / 5 years time.
You're getting 25% free no matter when you buy - just the less interest as not saving over the 5 years.
You will only get max £2,000 each in the accounts by that date but that is an extra £500 each to put towards your deposit :smiley:
An effectively free £1,000 in 6 months months isn't bad going I'd say :smiley:
A house of £100k going up by 25% in 5 years => you need £25k more.
HTB ISA => total gain ~£5-6k in 5 years.
In other words, if house prices are going up further then the best advise is to buy now. But nobody knows what the property market will do. In that sense I agree - this is a good deal.
You don't HAVE to use these accounts for property deposits. Obviously there are other restrictions like the £200/mo deposit limit (£1200 in the first month).
Yes, assuming it's an instant-access ISA...and I think all of the help-to-buy ISAs are.
I have just been on the phone to First Direct - who I currently have an ISA which have paid to in to this financial year.
They said that I should not close it at the moment, because apparently you cannot pay in/open another. And also they are still waiting on the regulations from the Government about what to do with people who have already paid in to one, whether they are going to have to wait until April or not.
Based on that, it seems that it is better to wait and see whether your current bank who you have an ISA with will offer something soon and allow you to transfer the money from your current one in to a HTB ISA. Their is probably more chance of that than being able to close one and open one of these.
Am amazed with the amount of population increase that it actually gets people a roof for the majority to live under.
When even a previous labor PM has a valuable property portfolio goes to show how deep the problem.
What with all the nimbys and the greenbelt(have to protect the views from my manor house etc and sod the people wanting a house law)I'm lucky? to be living in a poor area and able to afford a terrace.
Rant over.
Even people who are looking to buy right now would benefit a bit - shove in £1200, then £200 for two months, and get a free £400 from the government.
At the current market inflation, the house you thought you could afford 5 years ago is now 20k more expensive!
This scheme is flawed. More effort needs to be put into building be damn things so there is less demand.
Then on top of that another 3,000.
The maximum you have towards your deposit will be 17465 as I said at the start. !!
It really isn't that difficult to understand - I dunno, perhaps you are just trying to be awkward.
Have messaged them and received this response so far. Seems promising. Seems the 1250 may be per person and the 500 per mortgage.
Will update as get more info.
What's your alternative solution?
They did a few years ago for the first k125k. Average house price 186k at the time. All it did was fuel the market
Keep up
I love how all the people who predicted 30% falls in 2008 onwards are absent from this thread
House prices are only going one way for the foreseeable future and its not down while we have 360,000 new citizens every year. I do actually feel sorry for the hard working youth of today as they have little chance of buying a home.
What I think we are entitled to is affordable housing that does not rise by 10 times the average salary per year.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-property-boom-built-on-dirty-money-10083527.html
I'd be interested to know how other countries deal with this.
Back to this deal. Im advised that you cant open a Help to Buy Isa PLUS a cash ISA in the same year.
If I open a Help to Buy can I still add money to my existing ISAs from previous years? I've got a few ISAs with the old limit of around 5k in so I'd want to be topping those up to whatever my allowance would be.
https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/start-a-monthly-donation
there. 2 x charity direct debits. enjoy
Adding ISA to help2buy ISA: I'd imagine but im unsure if you could add your previous to this. Just don't expect the 4% interest on the whole amount, banks aren't stupid (mostly) & have to be realistic.
Halifax 4%
Virgin Money 3%
Barclays 2.25%
Aldermore 2%
HSBC 2%
Lloyds 2%
Nationwide 2%
Natwest 2%
Santander 2%
Disappointing that the maximum deposit is the £1k initial + £200 per month.
I tried adding more thinking that the 4% would apply to anything on top and it wouldn't allow me.
Maybe naive but there we go. Thought you should all know.
max investment is £3400 at 4% whereas you can put up to £15240 in other cash ISAs and get around 3%
so if you can save a lot, then anything you save over £3400 will be taxable
Their website says I cannot have 'subscribed' to another ISA this tax year...
Now: open help-to-buy put £1000 in and deposit £200p/m
April: open normal cash ISA and deposit the rest of savings in there?
Look at stocks and shares ISA for April perhaps - rules are different.
If I'm saving for a year only before I have enough and I want to use the goverments help to buy scheme where they give you a interest free loan and top up your deposit. Can I use this isa and get around £850 bonus for then year plus then use the help to buy equity loan scheme?
Mind looking at my savings plan?
Change my current account to Nationwides flexdirect earning 5%gross on £2500.
Open Halifax help to buy ISA earning 4%net and gaining the bonus, paying £200 a month.
Open HSBC regular saver earning 6%gross, paying £250 a month (unable to withdraw).
Open First Direct regular savings earning 6%gross, paying £300 a month (unable to withdraw).
Open Nationwide Flexclusive regular saver earning 5%gross, paying £500 a month.
Close the 3 saver accounts once their 12month promotional offer is up.
Might seem a lot but I have some savings sitting in my current account doing nothing which I would combine with my excess income.
Thoughts?
Obviously depends how much your saving but if its over £3600 i think nationwide is better as you have more options.
Not being funny, but this kind of info is in the description. Even a cursory glance would give you these answers.
EDIT: I appear to be wrong, so ignore me - some providers do this treating them as a single ISA.
If you’re 16 or over you can open an account (provided you meet the eligibility criteria†), with an initial deposit of up to £1,200, and then make further contributions of up to £200 per calendar month. (You can contribute to another Nationwide cash ISA product at the same time, as long as you don't exceed your total ISA tax-free savings allowance each year.)
I reckon this HMRC rules have changed to allow for this but Halfiax seem to be ignoring them.
"ISA managers are allowed to treat multiple ISA accounts held by them as a single ISA for reporting purposes, so you are allowed to split your cash ISA subscriptions between different accounts with the same provider as long as they allow it (not all do). "
From what I've read, you close this account (htbisa) before applying and show the solicitor the closing statement when applying for the mortgage to get the bonus. Because of this, you could close this account and move the money into the save to buy isa to also boost your cashback, as the cashback is determined by your balance at time of application (mse had a bunch of confirmations that they've moved the cash last min and get the higher cashback).
Just waiting out nationwides long process
http://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/support-articles/faqs/save-to-buy-isa-manage-your-account-faqs
This is what I mean by close the HTBisa and put that money in the save to buy isa, you'll get the bonus from HTBisa and the cashback for the save to buy.
Hope you're right, but my impression from Martin Lewis was that money would need to go direct from HTBISA to the deposit. Definitely worth clarifying though, because missing out on that 25% bonus would be gutting. Nobody knows for sure, and I'd imagine the final details are still being worked out.
God help you
2) I will have approx £9,000 to put in an ISA this year. According to MSE the nationwide help to buy ISA will allow me to open a separate ISA too and use up my full 15,000 allowance; whereas the Halifax Help to Buy does not allow for a 2nd ISA to be opened in the same financial year.
My question is would it be better to open the Halifax help to buy at 4% or the lower interest Nationwide and put the remainder of my money in another nationwide ISA? Which will earn me the most interest?
You gotta do your own workings out mate, everyone wins differently. If you have 9k day one, you'd earn 92 quid off the 4% I year 1 (ending with 3491 on the anniversary). The remainder of this (5600) in a 3% 123 account (calculated with no tax as should be able to get interest tax free from april) would earn you around 215. And remember this will be under what you actually earn because it's not taking into account the extra 2.4k earning 3% on day one whilst it drip feeds out over the year.
The ISA with 2% would net you 46 quid over the year (half funnily enough). If you had the other cash in another of nationwides offerings (at around 1.6%), you'd earn 86 quid.
So I guess don't chose the lower rate based on the ability to put more cash in to an even lower rate. ISA rates suck and you can get better from current accounts at the minute.
Seems to me the ones it will help most those who can afford to save or who have parents who will pay it for them.
I imagine there will be a lot of people who can't afford to save and will never get on the housing ladder.
Would have thought Government would have been better to invest in affordable housing schemes with low deposits that could possibly benefit those caught paying high rent now and not afford to save.
I have now signed back on but I can't find any option for setting up the monthly payment for the £200?
If you're to open one Help to Buy today with Halifax, the interest is just 2%