Top 10 facts and rules…

1. Its only available to ‘First Time Buyers’
2. ‘First Time Buyers’ can only have one Help to Buy ISA with one provider
3. You can pay in £1,000 when you open the account and then save a maximum of £200 per month
4. The maximum government bonus is £3,000 (but you can lower amounts of bonus if you have less than £12,000)
5. The scheme will run for 4 years from the date it opens (Autumn 2015)
6. Couples can have a Help to Buy ISA each which means if they don’t want to wait 4 years could save £12,000 in 25 months where as a single saver would need 55 months
7. Unlike ISA’s where you open one per year, the Help to Buy ISA will continue for 4 years
8. You can withdraw funds but if its not to buy a home then you won’t get the bonus
9. More than 100,000 homes have now been bought with government backed schemes
10. You will be able to get them at banks and building societies

Money Saving Expert has some useful Q&A including this one….

A first-time buyer is someone who does not and has never owned an interest in a residential property, either inside or outside the UK.

Many people have said “I owned a property previously but now rent”, “I have a shared ownership property” or “I have inherited a property” can I still open a Help to Buy ISA? And the answer is NO – you have to be a first-time buyer to open one.

steve@bicknells.net