Why does it take SO long ?

I hope so Dinah - "for sales" seem to go in fits & starts - there'll be precious little for months then all of a sudden a whole bunch of places come on the market.Good luck.

We’ve been renting for a few months. Thank you all for your good advice hopefully we’ll find somewhere before too long.

I'm also downsizing due to my husband dying 16 months ago so has been a difficult decision after a difficult year trying to find a new normal. I'm not looking forward to a move on my own but know it's the way to go so don't fancy renting and then having to move again plus there are no suitable rentals where I want to be. People tell me if it's meant to be it will happen so just playing a waiting game.

Yes to renting.
But obviously budget for it!

The problem with renting is, as one estate agent told us, landlords aren’t very interested in people who only want to rent for a short time.

My mother-in-law was given the address and a viewing before the agent had even done the "brochure".
It never went online.
I'd actually speak to the agents individually, call them on (say) a Monday every week and remind them to call you.
Say you are sold and eager.
🤞
My mother-in-law had agents call her immediately they wete given the properties to sell.

Oreo

Where I live there isn’t much for sale atm.
If you’re prepared to rent for a while you’ll be in a great position as a buyer when something does come up that you like.

This is good advice because it puts you in a very strong position when negotiating for the place you will find eventually.

I know from experience because our seller accepted our offer because we had exchanged on our own sale, even though we were offering less money.

Renting can be an adventure if you can find something you like and you will probably have to put stuff in storage but it could be worth it in the long run.

Good luck!

Where I live there isn’t much for sale atm.
If you’re prepared to rent for a while you’ll be in a great position as a buyer when something does come up that you like.

Will you move out and rent somewhere? If you’ve just accepted an offer is that what you mean by sold?

Thank you Monkey18 helps to know someone else in the same situation. Our move was to downsize and also we were really happy that we were able to sell our semi to a young family.
Unfortunately it seems finding somewhere for an elderly couple who don’t want to be doing renovations isn’t easy.

I'm in the same boat Dinah49er,sold my bungalow about a month ago but nothing coming up for sale where I want to be,see bungalows I like but in completely the wrong area which is defeating the object,definitely not so many coming up for sale this year and not sure how long my buyers are prepared to wait.

Write down your priorities and what you are prepared to compromise on. Unfortunately we cannot always get everything we want. What would be important to me would be location, 3 bedrooms, a downstairs toilet, a manageable garden and a parking space. I prefer a separate dining room but would accept a kitchen diner, total open plan is not my ideal. A property that needs total refurbishment would be a big NO, basic painting and decorating would be okay. Hope you find what you are looking for soon.

Definitely don’t rely solely on estate agents.

Online portals like Rightmove etc are the way forward.

Have you registered with online property portals?

Maybe make a list of non negotiable v negotiable wants.
This I found helped clarify where we would v wouldn't compromise, e.g. location or bedrooms etc.

Could you increase your budget?

Could you decrease your budget and use the surplus to pay for renovation of say the bathroom, kitchen, windows or whatever, for example?

Good luck with your search, hopefully you'll find your new home soon.

Have you got lots of Estate agents looking for you? I did but found my house by accident. I drove someone home who was sick and saw the perfect property two roads away.

Perhaps hou might need be more flexible in what you are looking for.