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How do I withdraw funds from a Lifetime ISA for a home purchase?

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Written by Polly
Updated this week

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.

Steps to Complete the Withdrawal Process

To initiate and process your Lifetime ISA withdrawal for a home purchase:

  1. Contact Tembo support via the app chat or by emailing us at [email protected]

  2. 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).

  3. Fill out your Customer Withdrawal form and hand it over to your solicitor or conveyancer.

  4. 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]

🚨 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.

Tips for Smooth Transactions

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.

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? Your account reference number can be found by navigating to the app’s Settings section in the bottom right corner of your app then clicking on 'My Profile' and your LISA reference number should appear as 'NUXXXXXXXXX'.

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