Congratulations on moving forward with your first home purchase! 🏡 🔑
Withdrawing funds from your Lifetime ISA (LISA) to purchase your first home involves several steps to ensure a smooth and timely transaction. Below are the guidelines to help you navigate this process efficiently.
Ensuring Eligibility Criteria is Met
First of all, check that you meet all eligibility criteria to withdraw from your LISA for your first home purchase:
The property costs £450,000 or less
The property is in the UK
You’re buying with a mortgage
You're buying with the help of a conveyancer or solicitor
You're not going to rent it (with a buy-to-let mortgage)
It’s your first home
You’ve had your Lifetime ISA open for 12 months or more
Overview of Lifetime ISA Withdrawals for Home Purchase
A Lifetime ISA is a savings account that benefits from a government bonus and can be used for buying a first home. To use funds for this purpose penalty-free, you must meet eligibility criteria such as using the funds to purchase a home with a mortgage. Additional details: Interest accrued up to the date the withdrawal begins processing is included in full withdrawals. For partial withdrawals, the remaining accrued interest is credited to your LISA in the next scheduled interest cycle.
Steps to Complete the Withdrawal Process
To initiate and process your Lifetime ISA withdrawal for a home purchase:
Contact Tembo support via the app chat or by emailing us at [email protected]
Request the required Customer Withdrawal form and Conveyancer Declaration form. Please note that if you are buying your home with someone who also holds a Tembo LISA then they will need to fill out a separate form).
Fill out your Customer Withdrawal form and hand it over to your solicitor or conveyancer.
Provide the Conveyancer Declaration form to your solicitor or conveyancer for them to fill out, they then need to send both forms to [email protected] Ensure that your solicitor submits the completed forms as PDF attachments to the designated home purchase inbox, avoiding individual staff email addresses to prevent processing delays.
🚨 Please do not try to request a withdrawal from your LISA in the app as this process is only for ineligible withdrawals 🚨
Notice Period and Timeline Expectations
Tembo asks for 30 days' notice to ensure withdrawal payments are made in time for your home purchase completion. This is a precaution to account for unforeseen delays that might occur in payment processing or conveyancing. Allowing extra time is strongly recommended to avoid any potential disruption to your home purchase, the 30-day notice policy reflects the most up-to-date recommendation for all users. Additionally, if you intend to withdraw from LISAs held with multiple providers, inform Tembo early to ensure smooth coordination of your withdrawal process.
Tips for Smooth Transactions
Provide the required 30 days' notice before your withdrawal request to ensure funds are available when needed.
If using LISAs from multiple providers, notify all parties as early as possible to streamline coordination.
Always use approved communication channels such as the designated home purchase email inbox to avoid losing critical documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Should I withdraw all funds or only part of them for a home purchase? For home purchases, a full withdrawal is commonly selected to include government bonuses. However, any bonus that is delayed can later be sent to your solicitor fee-free before purchase completion date. When withdrawing, be aware that interest accrued by the withdrawal date is included in full transfers, while partial withdrawals accrue interest added in the next cycle.
2. Can I use part of funds for a deposit and the rest for solicitor fees? No, if you are withdrawing from your LISA for your first home purchase then all of the withdrawn funds would need to be used for your deposit.
3. What happens if my forms are not submitted with sufficient notice? While Tembo aims to process requests quickly, late submissions might cause delays in securing funds by your completion date. Always allow at least 30 days whenever possible to avoid issues.
4. Where can I find my LISA account reference number? You can locate your LISA account reference within the Tembo app: Go to Settings > My Profile. Find your Cash LISA Account Reference, which starts with "NU."