Deposit when closing contracts

I just put a booking deposit down for a house. When I close the contracts the estate agent will probably look for a deposit of 10%, would it be possible to negotiate a deposit of around 8% to save me having to borrow a couple of grand to cover a 10% deposit. It's a new development so maybe that would be a help.

Thanks

If you can prove that you have the 92% mortgage arranged and the 8% deposit available, ask your solicitor to put this to the vendor's solicitor. Given that the 10% contract deposit is an arbitrary figure designed to be large enough to discourage you from walking away, most vendors will agree to 8% rather than 10%. But be aware that there's no obligation on the other side to agree if they're not feeling accomodating.

If it's a newbuild, it's well worth asking. When I was paying the contract deposit, it was only 5% of the purchase price.

Thanks guys, suppose it can't hurt to ask