Me and DH bought our house and May and despite all the doom and gloom on the news, there are still a lot of mortgage options if you have at least a 10% deposit (we had 15%). Your unlikely to get anything reasonable without at least 10% though. The bank also asked if I had permanent residency (ILR), which i did at the time but I dont know if they would have approved me without it.
My best advice is to go see a mortgage advisor. Alot of estate agents have them in-house. We went to see one that worked through Reeds Reins and she basically typed our details into her computer and told us who could give us the best mortgage. Then we just completely bi-passed her, because she charged a £500 fee, and we then went to the bank she said could give us the best deal.
The initial appointment with her was free.... she just charged for being a middle-man between you and the bank and you and the estate agent, which you really dont need.
Best of luck!
