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@hugo7 From my research, I think with the help to buy isa, if you don't use it on a house, you still get the interest when you cash out tax free, just not the gov's contribution of 25%. I also think the scheme ends in like November so I should really get into one, even just with £100 to start, ASAP.
The stipulations are limiting indeed
bobble-
It’s worth noting with LISAs, you get your 25% government bonus up front, so if you pay £4000 in you get £1000 bonus up front (which is the max for a single tax year).
This is great if you intend to buy a house in the near-mid term but should your plans change and you need to withdraw that cash you are penalised 25% of the balance, so for example, if you paid in £4000, got the £1000 bonus then decided to pull out you would only receive £3750, you’d pay a £250 penalty in effect.
This is obviously not an issue with help to buy as there’s no penalty but you don’t ecru the bonus as quickly.
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It's definitely worth doing, because as you said either way you have the money in an isa, earning whatever its earning.
People have done a good job of explaining the limitations of LISAs.
mcmyk
hugo7
This is my understanding too.
My 2p the idea of trusting the government on something as long term as the lifetime ISA is niave. And over the term the gain seems minor.
The Help to Buy ISA doesn't alwsy work out when you look at the inside/near London caps and that it's priced into a lot of new builds (which I believe is still a stipulation). However, there is so little downside, if you can you may as well. If it works for you great, if it doesn't meh.