My brother and I live in a £400,000 London flat, which we own with a mortgage.
M y brother and I live in a £400,000 London flat, which we own with a mortgage.
My partner (who is under the age of 40) lives here too, but has no financial stake in the property.
Clearly I’m unable to take advantage of the recently-announced Lifetime Isa, but my partner has never bought a property.
My partner and I have no intention of moving any time soon, but when we do we’ll probably be looking for somewhere that’s worth more than the £450,000 Lifetime Isa cap.
However, my brother might be looking to move on sooner than us.
If my partner chose to buy out my brother, would he be able to take advantage of the Lifetime Isa?
J. Brazier, email
From what you say above, a Lifetime Isa, or»Lisa», looks like a suitable savings vehicle to help your partner save to buy out your brother. There should be no issue when using it to buy into a joint tenancy.
He is under the age of 40, a first-time buyer and the value of the property he wishes to buy a share of is under the £450,000 Lisa limit.
Your partner will be able to save £4,000 a year and the Government will boost funds by 25pc. The bonus will be paid at the end of the 2017-18 tax year and thereafter it will be added to the balance monthly.
The Lisa must be open for at least 12 months before the money can be withdrawn to purchase a home.
Y our partner will also have to meet certain criteria or he will face a charge for trying to withdraw his money from the Lisa.
O ne of these criteria is that he must purchase the property with a mortgage.
Danny Cox, from Hargreaves Lansdown, the fund shop, which is one of three providers offering the Lisa from launch, said there is no minimum borrowing amount — but lenders will typically offer mortgages starting at £10,000.
