If I don't buy now, what shall I do with the money?

[IWillAlwaysBeinaClubWithYouin1973]

No traffic on the money thread so hoping someone here will have an idea - sold my house in January, I have £185k from the settlement, that's all I have (no other savings). I thought I was going to buy almost immediately (using that as a deposit) so just split it between two standard bank accounts - now it looks like sale might fall through and I need to rent and think again. I work part time, low income (but not on benefits), kids grown up, single, no debt. I didn't invest in anything because as I say I thought I'd be buying this month.

Are there any tax implications, legal reasons, or just common sense reasons why I can't just shove a bit in some premium bonds, leave the rest to hand in a basic savings account (or two) and see how the next 6 months go whilst I start looking for a house again? Am I missing a problem or an opportunity here?

^ on the flip side. You are not g'teed to get anything near the quoted rate. We won just £25 on £80K invested last month! And over time we have achieved just under the marketed prize rate (someone has to pay to award those millionaires each month!)

Also, money in not entered into the prize draw until the month after your investment is made, e.g. if I invest today, then the first prize draw I'll be in will be the July draw. So it may not make sense unless you invest for more than a few months.

Read the MSE article I linked.

With £50k in Premium Bonds, the median average winnings over a year would be £1,650 which is 3.3%. You can get a much higher return than that with regular savings accounts, even allowing for tax on interest.

OP you said you work part-time, are you a basic rate tax payer? You can compare PB with regular savings using this calculator:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/premium-bonds-calculator/

Agree with pp that it’s important to understand your tax position and how much you can earn in savings before the Hmrc take a chunk

Yearly interest would be:

£1,014 tax free from £20k in cash ISA (5.07%)

£7,689 gross* from £165k in 60-day notice savings account (4.66%)

*Assuming you're a basic rate tax payer, you pay £1,337.80 tax on that, so your net interest would be £6,351.20

Total interest (after tax) £7,365.20 over a year

Note that your £165k can be in the same bank account for 6 months only (FSCS protection limit is increased to £1m for up to 6 months after selling your house) but you would need to move £80k to a different bank after 6 months.

Don't have more than £85k in an account:

"In the UK, bank money is protected up to £85,000 per person, per institution by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This means if a bank, building society, or credit union fails, the FSCS will pay back up to £85,000 of your deposit. Joint accounts have a higher protection limit of £170,000."

Now is a good time to buy as nothings moving, so possibly a lot of good deals to be made with people who are desperate to sell. (My neighbour dropped nearly £100k, but I know this absurd amount would be rare).

Don’t leave not buying too long, would be my advice, because bricks and mortar is the best investment.

Thank you all, that's great advice all round lots to think about.