Should I put my deposit in a savings account/premium bonds until I buy something new?

[FingersXrossed]

Getting money from buyer soon and will have my deposit once the amount left on my old place is taken off. Family member has suggested that I put the deposit into premium bonds or similar. I'm hoping to have bought something new within 6 months (am actually hoping before the end of the year in case things go to shit in January). Solicitor said they can either put the deposit in my bank account or give me a cheque.

What to do?!

We’ve just done exactly that. Bought premium bonds until we can overpay the mortgage again. Any further overpayments would attract a penalty of 1% so stuck the cash in Nsandi. The first draw is December though.

We put it in premium bonds - so we both had the maximum. Won about £1500 in total over the 6 months.

Exactly what we've done and have had some small wins. Certainly made more than we would of if in savings

I’ve used premium bonds for a similar sort of thing. If it’s very short term, it’s too risky to invest and saving accounts have v low interest. I think the max is 50k per person, though.

Definitely premium bonds, when you need it it’s in your account in 3 to 4 days

We’ve got half our deposit in premium bonds, and half in help to buy isa. On roughly £8k we’ve had £75 in wins, which is more than any interest account at the moment

It's unanimous then! Thanks all :) Will look into how to sort this out.

I've just put into premium bonds for the same reason!

It's got to be better than bank interest rates.

Would I just ask for a cheque then and apply to get it put into premium bonds? I was told that a bank transfer would incur a CHAPS(?) payment of around £30? Thanks

I transfer mine by card and no issue or charges. You can set up direct debits easily I think

@FingersXrossed

Would I just ask for a cheque then and apply to get it put into premium bonds? I was told that a bank transfer would incur a CHAPS(?) payment of around £30? Thanks

Personally I paid the £30 to avoid the risk of the cheque going missing in the post.

If you are with HSBC don't be put off when they can't 'check' the NS&I account. I was advised to do a tester amount, which was paid in successfully. Annoying HSBC don't have them on their 'safe' list.

Yikes, didn't think of that! Although I'm not sure if they'd just hand the cheque over to me. But then there's the whole transferring it to the premium bonds company. Hmm..

Your house sale monies will be put into your bank account, and the whole amount is protected for six months then reverts to the £85K. I'm having to transfer mine in chunks each day, it is a slow process, but NS&I is protected.

Sorry read your post without glasses, see you can have a cheque too :)

1% prize fund, and tax-free

it varies with luck so you may get less (or more) though

I didn’t have any problems paying into premium bonds from a Santander account.

I'm assuming that a cheque would be free (maybe not). So would I put the cheque in my bank account and then make transfers to premium bonds? Is that how it works?

Don't want to risk losing money by it going missing in the post but assuming I can move it over from my bank account once it's in there. Thanks.

you can make electronic payments to Premium Bonds.

you set up an online account, and use your debit card.

With online payments it is wise to make a small one first, and then verify, on the official website (not one you have been sent in an email) that it has arrived.

Although you may be chargedfor a CHAPS payment, BACS payments (the norm) are free, as is Fastpay.

www.nsandi.com/products/premium-bonds

cheques are terribly 19th Century.

Thanks @PigletJohn I just wondered if a cheque from the solicitor would be free rather than getting charged £30 for a CHAPSpayment intot my account. I'll phone up and query.

Not sure how much I can move across per day without getting questioned about it. I tried to move several thousand into an online bank account for immigration costs, and got it blocked then got hauled into the bank to get questioned about it. I delighted in telling the manager and fraud person on the phone all about my husband's visa application and associated costs! How annoying. So I'd like to avoid that happening again. Maybe there's info on their website about how much you can move out the account in a day, will check.

We've recently done this. Chose CHAPS payment at £30 because last time we did a cheque & had to wait for it to arrive then go into the bank to deposit it, then wait for it to clear. Okay if you can wait for the money but things do get lost in the post.
With HSBC you can transfer out £25k daily.
Premium bonds are good. You can invest up to 50k but interest is (like everything) poor - but it is backed by the State and you get instant access when you want to withdraw. Winning the prizes is the most exciting part.

I wasn't sure if I could collect the cheque at the solicitor's? Rather than them sending it in the post. Hmm.

Also just noticed that they're slashing the premium bonds interest rate and prizes from November! Rubbish. www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/09/premium-bond-prize-rate-to-be-slashed-to-1-/

We just sold a house and had the solicitor transfer using BACS rather than CHAPS. It was free and just took a few extra days, but no need for a cheque.

Ah, I wonder if they'd do BACS instead? I don't mind if it takes a bit longer, would be nice to not have a fee slapped on!