FTB question: When exactly must deposit be in hand?

Good day,

I have 41.5k of my 45k target deposit in hand. I can grow the deposit at 1.2-1.5k a month ... so ~3 months away from target.

My parents have offered to cover non-deposit costs ~£4k.

Hoping for a 180k mortgage which with a 45k deposit = 225k for a purchase in the general vicinity of Cambridge.

I have only being looking at properties online to date but am now wondering at which point I should transition to viewing and making offers etc.

In order to time things properly I seem to have to take the following into account:

• Time taken to find and complete. General feedback I have received from acquaintances recently buying is that this takes a long time.
• If I assume its going to take a long time but I find the right place quickly with a willing buyer I dont want to incur costs only to discover that I wont have the deposit ready ... wasting my and the vendors time and money.
• I would like to start viewings with an AIP and proof of deposit in hand. Is the size and availability of your deposit (on the day you apply for AIP) relevant to the AIP process? i.e. If I approach a mortgage company with a 41.5k instead of 45k deposit will that change the amount offered by them?
• How do I deal with the fact of ~4k appearing "out of nowhere" in my account? Would banks view this as someone helping me with the deposit as opposed to helping with costs? (To emphasize ... the final 45k deposit will provably have come from my personal savings only). Do banks even care where your costs money comes from? If this "magic" 4k is going to cause issues should I just save for an additional 4 months (3+4 = 7 months in total) instead?

To sum up when must the 45k be in my account ready to be taken by the solicitors? i.e. when can I actually start house hunting for real? :beer: