Advice re short term home for house deposit

[pinwick71]

We are moving house shortly but, for various reasons, our sale and purchase can't complete on the same day.

We will be moving in with family for about 4-5 weeks and for this short time will have a lump sum of cash for the new house deposit in the bank.

Any advice regarding bank accounts appropriate for holding this cash for a short term period? Is it worth setting up a separate/savings account for such a short period of time and if so, where is the best place to put the cash?

It's going to be something that gives you instant access for the best rate possible. I also prefer 'internet access' for convenience - hate having to go into branches. An instant access Cash ISA might give you a better interest rate but there's a limit on how much you can put in them. Unfortunately, all instant access accounts these days are paying out the square root of not much :) 3% would be typical. So for the four or five weeks it is in the account, don't expect to retire on the proceeds.

Have a look at your regular bank's best offer for a savings account as that's probably easiest to set up quickly. Use one of the comparison sites to see what else is available.