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It depends a lot on your circumstances I'd say. My deposit pretty much wiped out all of my savings, furniture had to wait until I got the deposit back from the flat I was renting previously.
On the other hand, I had a reasonably well paying job so I could build up my savings after (mortgage was actually less than rent), the job was pretty secure, I was employed and it would be very unlikely I'd be sacked (although I also took out unemployment and critical illness cover until my savings built back up) and I didn't have any dependants.
Basically, I could afford to wipe my savings out, if you have children, are self-employed, at risk of redundancy, have a car that might need repairs and is vital for work, etc then your position may be different.
In terms of "bigger is better" for mortgage that only counts at certain thresholds. An 18% deposit probably won't get you a better deal than 15% so it's only worth extending yourself to get into the next LTV band for a mortgage deal.
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aggi
@ewanmac
Thanks for the helpful responses a couple of pages back... we were away on a mini tour over the weekend.
We've booked an appointment with and had a phone conversation with a mortgage advisor who has already been very helpful. However, I'm not sure if I was expressing myself badly on the phone, but one question he seemed to dance around a little bit was "what proportion of total savings is it typical for people to spend on their deposit?". It seems like the fist question everyone asks is "what's your deposit" and broadly speaking bigger is better but knowing how much of my savings to commit is pretty scary.
At the moment I get the feeling I'm more reluctant to commit funds than my GF, but since we are currently living with my mum it wouldn't be surprising if she felt the pressure to move even more keenly than I do.
@Howard thanks for the offer but I'm not in London so probably a bit difficult :-)