Best deposit account for house building

[gemma36]

Hi All,

I am a bit green on all this but we will be starting to build a house soon and need somewhere to keep our mortgage money as we draw it down in instalments. We will be going interest only on the mortgage while the build is taking place (approx 4.7% interest) and so would ideally like an account with not more than 30 days notice needed for withdrawals and no limit on the amount of withdrawals per year, which would pay us more or less what we are paying out on interest. Each drawdown would be approx €80,000 and I see some of these accounts only give the good interest rates on smaller amounts. Any ideas??

Thanks for the help,

Gemma

 

[ClubMan]

See the Financial Best Buys forum for details of the best deposit accounts on offer.

 

[gemma36]

Hi Clubman,

Thanks for that, had a look at that thread. As I've said am a bit green at all this so not really sure about all the different rates but the Anglo Irish 30 days notice at 4.5% AER looks quite good, what do you think?

Thanks

Gemma

 

[ClubMan]

Read the lists again - other banks are paying higher rates for lump sum demand (i.e. no notice) deposits (e.g. First Active, Rabo, Northern Rock). And then there are the c. 7% regular saver accounts. Combining the two classes of accounts is another way to maximise deposit interest returns. It's really a case of choosing the banks that offer the highest rates and with terms & conditions that match your needs. I have no idea why you thought that the Anglo account mentioned above was the best (in terms of interest rate) since it's not even listed first!

 

[gemma36]

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong thing but from what I can see the rates for lodging lump sums like that seem to be:
Northern Rock 4.5%, Rabo 3.75% for sums >10,000, First active E-savings 4.33% for sums>15,000 and FA 40 day notice 2.6%. I can't see anything better than the Anglo/NR 4.5%??
I don't think the regular savings one would work for me as will be drawing down about 4 lump sums €80,000 each over 1 year period.
Will keep looking in case have missed something!
Thanks
Gemma

 

[ClubMan]

Northern Rock 4.5%

Yes - for amounts > €1K. And this is a demand deposit account so easier access that the Anglo account paying the same rate but requiring 30 days notice!

Rabo 3.75% for sums >10,000

5% on amounts up to €10K; 3.75% on any balance over that.

First active E-savings 4.33% for sums>15,000

Yes - but lodge less than €15K and you get 5.22% on it.

and FA 40 day notice 2.6%. I can't see anything better than the Anglo/NR 4.5%??

Rabo and FA are better for sums of €10K and < €15K as above.

You may need to mix and match several accounts to get the best rates. But it's not as much hassle as it might sound in most cases.