With the government offering a boost of 25% to first-time buyer's savings, you'd be mad not to take advantage of this scheme to save your deposit for a home.

If you are saving to buy your first home, save money into a Help to Buy: ISA and the Government will boost your savings by 25%. So, for every £200 you save, receive a government bonus of £50.

The accounts are available to each first time buyer, so if you are planning to buy with your partner, for example, you could each benefit from a Help to Buy: ISA

How do I save? Most banks, building socities and other financial institutions will offer Help to Buy: ISAs and you invets up to £1,200 in your fist month, with a maximum monthly saving limit after that of £200.

The minimum government bonus is £400, meaning that you need to have saved at least £1,600 into your Help to Buy: ISA before you can claim your bonus. The maximum government bonus you can receive is £3,000 – to receive that, you need to have saved £12,000.

Receive bonus: when you are close to buying your first home, you will need to instruct your conveyancer to apply for your government bonus. Once they receive the government bonus, it will be added to the money you are putting towards your first home. The bonus must be used toward the purchase at the time of completion of the property. The bonus cannot be used for the deposit due at the exchange of contracts, to pay for solicitor’s, estate agent’s fees or any other indirect costs associated with buying a home.

See the Help to Buy:ISA rules here