Island Life Magazine Ltd April / May 2016 | Page 123
LEGAL
Help from Glanvilles
By Lauren Elliott
Glanvilles LLP,
The Courtyard, St Cross Business Park,
Newport, PO30 5BF
01983 527878
[email protected]
The Help to Buy: ISA Scheme
O
n 1st December 2015
the Government
introduced the Help to
Buy: ISA Scheme to assist first
time buyers.
This new scheme allows first time buyers
to save up to £200 per calendar month
with a maximum first monthly lump sum
contribution of £1,200. The Government
have stated that they will boost these
savings by 25 per cent resulting in a
£50 Government Bonus for each £200
saved. There is a cap on the Bonus of
£3,000, therefore, a first time buyer will
need to have saved £12,000 in a Help to
Buy ISA (HTB), in order to qualify for the
maximum Bonus of £3,000.
The Bonus is only available for first time
buyers (no legal or beneficial interest
in any property, anywhere in the world)
of residential property up to the value
of £250,000, unless the property is in
London; £450,000. The property has to
be occupied as the buyer’s only residence
and must be assisted by a residential
mortgage; the property cannot be rented
out or used as a holiday home.
The ISAs are available to each first time
buyer and not limited to one household,
therefore if you are intending to buy
with a partner, you could be eligible for
a Bonus of up to £6,000 towards your
first home.
Solicitors have to be registered and
approved by the Government scheme
to act on behalf of the first time buyer;
Glanvilles are registered as a Qualifying
Firm.
Applying for the Bonus can only
commence once an offer has been
accepted on a qualifying property and
a Solicitor instructed. The buyer then
applies to close their HTB ISA directly
with their bank. The Bonus will be
25% of the closing balance of the ISA.
Once a date for exchange of contracts/
completion has been agreed, the Solicitor
will request the Bonus directly from the
Government. This process is estimated
to take 30 days from the date the buyer
closes their ISA.
The minimum Bonus payable is £400,
which means the buyer needs to have
saved at least £1,600 in their ISA. From
the date the buyer closes their ISA, they
have 12 months within which to claim
their Bonus. They will only be able to
redeposit funds into their ISA if their
property purchase does not go ahead.
The HTB ISA can be used alongside
the existing Government Help to Buy
Schemes. The ISA is available at a range
of Banks and Building Societies and
buyers should contact each Bank/Building
Society with regards to their individual
offers/rates etc. Buyers can only have one
HTB ISA open at any time. Buyers can
open a HTB ISA until 30th November
2019, however the Bonus must be
claimed before 1st December 2030.
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