Often when people get married the thought of saving for a home is not far behind. As both an Independent Mortgage Broker and a Financial Advisor I am often asked about the best way to save for a new home and deposit. The government has just announced the launch of the ‘Help to Buy ISA’. This means that the government will boss your savings by 25% so for every £200 you save you will receive a government bonus of £50. The maximum amount of bonus you can receive is £3000. The ISA’s are available to each first time buyer so if you are planning to buy with your partner you could receive a government bonus of up to £6000 towards your first home! To kick start your savings you can save up to £1200 in your first month and then up to £200 per month after that.

Something to note that as well as being subject to the usual ISA rules the bonus is applied by your solicitor upon purchasing a property costing under £250,000 (£450,000 in London). For me this is a ‘no brainer’ for anyone wishing to save (or indeed saved) money and as well as the ‘bonus’ there are some attractive rates of interest. Dare I say I would also see this as a good way of parents and grandparents assisting kids on getting on the property ladder.