Martin Lewis Urges First-Time Buyers To Open A Help To Buy Isa Now - And You Only Need £1

Martin Lewis is urging first-time buyers to open a Help To Buy ISA before the November deadline so they don't miss out on a potential £3,000 cash bonus.

The financial specialist, and founder of Money Saving Expert, told viewers on ITV's Good Morning Britain that they should act fast, and can even open one with as little as £1.

"The Help to Buy Isa is closing soon," he explained.

"It's the simplest, easiest form of help for first time buyers. You save money in there and then the state adds a 25 per cent boost.

"So for every £1,000 you put in, you get 25 per cent - £250 on top. It's an absolute no brainer."

The deadline for new applicants for the ISA is 30th November, at which point savers won't be able to benefit from the government top up.

"You now have less than a month," the money expert added. "If you put £1 in or more before then, you then keep the facility open for 10 years, and you can continue to put money into it - and use it."

The Help to Buy ISA was launched at the end of 2015 to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder.

The maximum you can deposit when you open your account is £1,200 and the maximum you can save each month is £200.

While the minimum you must have saved for the government bonus to kick in is £1,600, which will be boosted by £350.

The most the government will give you is £3,000 on savings of £12,000, bringing your total up to an impressive £15,000. This means this who have been saving for the first hope independently, and have saved £12,000, could open the ISA for essentially free cash.

Once you're ready to buy, you can use the money towards a house with a price of £250,000, or £450,000 in London.

Savers can access the money they put in at any time, however the government bonus can only be accessed after you've saved the minimum amount (£1,600) and it won't even reach your bank account.

Instead, it will through your solicitor or conveyancer and might be subject to a maximum fee of £50 plus VAT.

The government are stopping the Help To Buy ISA in favour of the Lifetime ISA (LISA).

With the LISA, savers can put in up to £4,000 each year, until the age of 50. The government will add a 25 per cent bonus to your savings, up to a maximum of £1,000 per year.

You can use your LISA to buy your first home or for retirement.

Seems like a no-brainer.

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Topics: Life News, Money

Ciara Sheppard

Ciara is a freelance journalist working for Tyla. After graduating from the University of Sussex, Ciara worked as a writer at GLAMOUR Magazine and later as the Assistant Editor of Yahoo Style UK.

@ciarasheppard