I cheerfully hit the phones yesterday with £10m of someone else's money. I wasn't fussy, would look at short leases & structural problems. No survey, exchange and complete in 48 hours. Before launching into my wheelers & dealers book, I called the agents.

Three seconds into my spiel... "Let me stop you there, I've got 20 people like you and nothing to give them." "The market's really active with investor clients, could sell what you want ten times over... if I had it." "Loads of people are trying to park their cash... the £3m-£4m level is over-run with buyers." Finally, from a very posh Rupert... "I wouldn't bother talking to agents if I were you." Nobody was impressed with my roll of cash, then the phone rings. Derek the Limo driver. "Got a bloke in the back who wants to off-load his place in Holland Park, near Simon Cowell's pad. He wants a fast deal." That'll teach me, should have rung him first – at this level of the property market, it's always the Dereks who've got the X Factor.

Tracy Kellett runs leading buying agents BDI Homefinders. Follow her on Twitter, here.

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