‘No agent wants to sell a house twice so don’t give them a reason to start looking elsewhere’

are also red flags to look out. If the agent hasn’t taken down the “for sale” sign or the property is still listed online without a notice that it is under offer, I would inquire as to what is happening. Likewise, if the sellers appear to be stalling on the conveyancing I would check in with them or the agent to get some peace of mind that things are progressing as planned.

If you are gazumped and have spent thousands so far in the buying process, ask the seller if they will pay the costs. I’ll be honest, it’s unlikely they will. But it is worth asking.

GAZUNDERING: THE HEIGHT OF RUDENESS

On to gazundering. It is the one that, while I hate to say it, is more likely in a softening market. And, in my view, the height of rudeness.

It risks endangering a whole property chain. In many, if not most cases, a chain is built on the maths. And if you suddenly take £ 20,000 off the price of one of the properties at the base that can throw everything off as the owner can no longer afford the home they were planning to buy. So it’s not just your seller you are jeopardising, it is also everyone above them. Furthermore, if you do try and gazunder, you are taking a large risk that you will upset the owner to such an extent that either they choose not to sell it to you anyway, or it impacts the state in which they leave the property.

Having said that, there is a case to be made in this market for opening a discussion around a price reduction if the deal process has taken so long that the property has genuinely slipped in value. But, you should not leave it to the last minute. It is simply not fair.

Similarly, if you as a buyer have a survey completed that discovers problems with the property, you are within your rights to start a conversation about a renegotiation of your offer.

As the seller, I think one of the best things you can do to guard yourself against being gazundered is build a relationship with your buyers, emphasise your position if you are in a chain and do everything you can to help move the process to completion.

It is worth mentioning that you can get insurance products to protect you if you do get gazumped or gazundered. Home buyers’ protection insurance can stop you from losing out in legal and survey costs if the sale of your home doesn’t go ahead.

Roughly a third of sales fall through between offer and completion. I have never used these products myself, but it is a different market now so it could be worth it.

I work hard to make sure my clients wouldn’t be gazumped or gazundered and much of that is nurturing relationships with agents and vendors, making sure you have everything in writing and dealing with everyone fairly.

But we live in a changing world and sometimes things don’t go to plan. People’s situations change, and the longer it takes to do a deal the more likely it is that things shift.

And money brings out the worst in people. It is particularly challenging when you are talking about housing because it isn’t just about money – it is also about emotions and visions for the future.

You picture yourself living somewhere and if that is threatened it can be very difficult to deal with. When times are tight, it can even more easily turn into a fractious situation.

So are we going to see more gazundering? It depends how rude society is. I am holding out hope ( maybe naively) that we won’t. I know Telegraph readers wouldn’t.

As ever, do email me with your thoughts and questions: phil. spencer@telegraph.co.uk