Q My partner and I both have help-to-buy Isas and live outside of London so the most we’ll be able to spend on a property is £250,000. Property prices around the area we want to buy are very close to the £250,000 limit and often slightly above it.
It seems that the help-to-buy Isa guidelines say the £250,000 limit refers to the land but not fixtures and fittings. Does this mean if a property is on sale for £255,000, say, we could offer £250,000 for the property, but separately offer £5,000 for fixtures and fittings such as a new fitted kitchen, curtains, blinds, garden furniture and/or wardrobes? AL
A You are right that to earn the government bonus on your help-to-buy Isa savings – which must be used to buy a home in the UK – the most you can spend on the property is £250,000 outside London but £450,000 in London (which includes the London boroughs listed here).
However, the £250,000 limit refers to the purchase price of the property. And the purchase price includes fixtures and fittings that you wouldn’t expect the sellers to take with them such as a fitted kitchen or built-in wardrobes. However, you can negotiate a separate price for moveable items – such as curtains, blinds, any kind of non-fitted furniture or garden pots – which are not part of the fabric of the property. But note that agreeing an artificially inflated price for moveable goods in order to bring down the purchase price is not an acceptable option.
From 1 December 2019, you will no longer be able to open a help-to-buy Isa but you can still take out a lifetime Isa where the limit on the price of property you can buy with your savings – plus government bonus – is £450,000 both inside and outside London. If you already have a help-to-buy Isa, you can continue to save a maximum of £200 a month until November 2029.
Muddled about mortgages? Concerned about conveyancing? Email your homebuying and borrowing worries to Virginia Wallis at virginia.wallis.freelance@theguardian.com
