A well-known financial expert is urging first-time buyers to utilise a lifetime individual savings account - to assist them in landing their first home with additional bonuses from the Government.
ITV's Martin Lewis recently took to social media to discuss the property ladder with his followers, revealing he'd recently been sent a statistic informing him that the average age for buying a first home had jumped from 29 ten years ago to 32.
The money guru wanted to make sure those who are looking to buy are aware of all schemes that could help them, emphasising the Lifetime ISA (LISA) - Yorkshire Live reports.
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Anyone aged from 18 to 39 years old can open a LISA account, starting with a deposit of just £1, and Martin spoke of the importance of investing early.
Martin said: "If you hope to buy a home in the next 5 to 10 years, put £1 in a LISA now.
"These give first time buyers 25 per cent (up to £1k a year) on your savings after it has been open a year.
"So open with £1 now to start that clock, so it's usable when needed."
The bonus is paid every year you save something in the account until you hit 50.
It's paid monthly if you've contributed that month and it takes between four and nine weeks to arrive.
The maximum bonus you can get if you open it at 18 is £33,000.
You can save £4,000 in it each financial year - meaning the government would top it up by £1000, but those interested should be aware that unless you withdraw money for your first home or retirement, they won't keep the government top-up.
Figures from HMRC in 2020 show people had squirrelled away £604 million in these accounts, seeing £151 million added on top - working out at £677 each.
