"I've even seen a sale reach deadlock over a loo seat," says Jonathan Bergman, of Hampstead estate agents Amberden Estates. "The flat was worth £1.2 million, the loo seat £15. Clearly, it had sentimental value for the vendor."

And what about the buyer who demanded the vendor include the family dog in the deal? It's an essential read courtesy of the Telegraph - stories of petty squabbles turning into potential deal-breakers, in a market that encourages (in addition to gazundering) vindictive lists of demands from buyers who reckon they're at last holding the loaded gun and want to enjoy that feeling.