Comment: With nowhere to buy, renting may be the only option

There comes a point in any moving saga when the reality regarding next steps really hits home.

For most people, that's the mix of emotions that come from letting go of a place that's full of memories combined with the excitement of moving on to somewhere new and (hopefully) better.

For us, it's the growing realisation that, with the ongoing lack of a dream home to purchase, we're probably looking at a spell in rented.

Yes, while our sale seems to be progressing at a reasonable rate, there's still no sign of a new house for us to buy.

So, with what will hopefully only be a month or two until completion, we've started looking at rental options.

Naturally, renting round here doesn't come cheap - especially when you're looking for four bedrooms.

Then, in addition to our three delightful children, there's the added complication of the dog and cats.

The ultimate undesirable mix of kids and animals will most likely place us at the back of any queue going, so we'll have to hope that the rental market's a little less heated than things have seemed for us sales-wise.

Then there's the possibility that the ideal house may finally come up for sale just as we sign a rental contract. Not ideal, but probably - hopefully - not a total disaster either.

Ultimately, it may be a good thing.

Next time there's a bidding war with offers only being considered from chain-free buyers, we may even have a hope (assuming we can find a suitable property with a landlord willing to take us all on).

The dream isn't over, it's (hopefully) just on hold.