Let's do the maths.

So, lets get started on the maths, shall we?
We are looking for a 2 bed flat or house with outside space. We want cats (yes, we're one of those couples) and having lived in a second floor flat for a while, we miss being able to go outside somewhere when it's sunny. Also, having the clothes dryer in the hall makes it kinda cramped to get from the bathroom to the bedroom. And the second bedroom is for guests/home office/hobby room. Although as him indoors is a model maker extraordinaire (airplanes) and I hord anything that can't run away fast enough, the second room is more to make sure that we have space to live in the rest of the flat. Which means that in our part of the world we're looking at £175 000 - £200 000. Thank god we're not looking inside the M25! I though we should be able to get a decent place for that. £200 000 is not far off a quarter of a mill after all. So typing in "up to £200 000" in property sites and having to go past pages of retirement flats was a bit of a shock to the system!

So a 20% deposit is £35 000 - £40 000... We are already paying rent! How are we meant to save £40 000! So that's a no then. We sort of want to get on the housing ladder before we're 40.
A 10% deposit is £17 5000 - £20 000... We're still paying rent, so no. That is still unlikely to happen.
Last option, a 5% deposit. Some banks are actually offering 5% deposits for first time buyers! 5% is £8750 - £10 000. Still a lot, but definitely more achievable. Ok, so the rate at ca 6% is extortionate, but at least it's an offer!

We have gone with Nationwide's Save to Buy scheme, which means that we pay money into an ISA every month and hopefully get offered a 95% mortage at the end of it. You can put money aside for 6 months - 3 years and then you've got to use it. At least it removes the temptation to use the money for something else, right? I've set up a direct debit from my account into the S2B ISA the day after pay day, so I can't spend it. So far £100 is moving across, but I need to get into a position where I can transfer more! You can put £5,640 into a cash ISA pr year, so it would be a shame not to use it!