Published: 8/7/2010
The Bank of Scotland has a fantastic opportunity for first time buyers saving a deposit for their first home – doubled up savings.
The way this works is that savers who regularly deposit money into a Bank of Scotland savings account, up to a maximum amount saved of GBP5,000, will have the balance matched by the home builder Persimmon. The one proviso is that this only happens if the savings are used as a deposit on a new house.
A spokesman from the housebuilder saw it as making a real difference for first time buyers, though they would still need a considerable amount saved elsewhere in order to make the 25 percent minimum deposit most mortgage providers require. The Bank of Scotland are also in favour of the scheme as they want to help home buyers as much as they can.
According to a survey by the owner of the Egg card, only around half of employees in the UK have savings that would cover them for at least 4 months. This is the average time people find themselves between jobs for having been made redundant. Egg also looked at the amount of money needed to live in the UK today, which works out to GBP1,077 per month, without any luxury purchases included. So four months at this level should be the minimum level of savings held by people in the UK. As stated then half the UK working population would be unable to sustain themselves if they found themselves out of work. An Egg card spokesman urged people to seriously consider their own situation as finding themselves in a position where they are unable to meet their monthly bills would be disastrous for many families. Get the best savings account rates through Moneygossip.co.uk
Egg, best known for their Egg card, has just announced a new interest rate on their savings account of 6.05 percent gross. Requiring a minimum deposit of just GBP1 and open to both existing and new customers the Egg card savings account is expected to be very popular. It also allows free access to the money held, with no penalties or notice periods needed. After the first 12 months at the introductory rate the account reverts back to the standard variable rate, currently 4.75 percent gross. An Egg card spokesman, discussing the savings account, said that the introductory interest rate is one of the best available for easy access accounts and, with the rate guaranteed for 12 months offers an excellent vehicle for savers.
The Abbey National has just issued a new range of investment bonds, catering for children, the over fiftys and those seeking a safe, fixed rate home for their money. The Abbey National childrens savings bond is valid for those under 18 and offers a guaranteed 5.3 percent interest rate gross per annum, with an investment period of four years. Meanwhile, at the other end of the age scale, the over 50s will pay interest either annually or monthly to best suit investor circumstances, at a rate of 5.3 percent annual or 5.18 percent monthly. Finally, the fixed rate bond from the Abbey National is available as a one, two or three year product. Assuming an investment amount of less than GBP50,000 the gross returns are 5.7, 5.2 and 5.1 percent respectively. For the one year bond an investment of GBP50,000 or more would provide a 6 percent return.
