man, has this thread gone off on a tangent. I just bought and all seems ok, you don't need the deposit as the banks have a degree of liquidity they would currently rather not have. IE they are swimming in a sea of money so you should be able to finance the whole shooting match, in one form or another. Couldn't be bothered reading the drivel thus far but remember that you can rent considerably better than you can afford to buy (if you are entering the market now). It is also sometimes difficult to go from big flash rental to smaller owner occupier for yourself.