Q I am currently planning on using my first-time buyer lifetime Isa to buy a house to rent out. I am in the forces and so I am able to get a consent to let as I won’t be able to live there. The property is £120,000 with a rent of about £800 a month. I have been offered a mortgage of £489 a month for five years fixed. I don’t intend on moving into the house and I am using it as an investment. I then intend to buy a house with my girlfriend later on down the line and keep the first property as a rental. However, I am also considering just waiting until I leave the forces and buying a house with my girlfriend as a first-time buyer and saving all the perks as a first-time buyer. I’m not sure what to do; do you have any advice?
EJ
A Yes. Forget using your lifetime Isa to buy a property that you will use as an investment because it is not allowed. You are right in thinking that, because you are unable to live in a property when you first buy it because you are in the forces (or other type of crown servant), you are allowed to rent it out. But you are eligible to get the benefits of your lifetime Isa when buying property only if you intend to use the property as your main residence at some point – when you return from serving overseas, for example. In the words of the government guidance: “When you first purchase the property, you will be able to rent it out until you are able to move in.”
