A SAFE AND SECRET WAY TO BUY AND SELL

"Sometimes they can't face the hassle of dealing with agents. Often, owners contact us direct to find a client interested in taking on their property.

"We always stress to these owners that we cannot be their friend, because we represent buyers, so we urge them to get an estate agent to represent their interest. Some do, others don't."

Although Rightmove suggests that every agent in the country has a record 75 unsold properties on their books, househunting agents - who usually claim to haggle enough off the price to more than cover their charges - maintain their skills are as valuable in falling markets as in rising ones.

In a stagnant market, they say, nobody knows what many properties are actually worth.

"With agents putting property onto the market at last year's prices, and vendors unwilling to accept values have dropped, property frequently goes on sale at as much as 20% more than its real value," Greenwood says.

"On the other hand, properties often go to sealed bids and can achieve a price in excess of the guide price. Buyers can be forgiven for being confused.

"We also spot many excellent properties whose particulars fail to do them justice, and we look at properties that may appear too expensive for our client, knowing negotiation can bring them into the right category."

Jonathan Haward at County Homesearch, a rival househunter based in Truro, Cornwall, confirms Greenwood's findings.

He says that above the £1m mark, the market is largely immune to credit crunch woes.

"There is an unfortunate reluctance among owners of quality property to go onto the market, for fear of not selling or being subjected to everything that alarming BBC news coverage of the housing market might inflict upon it," he says.

"Meanwhile, Mondeo man is asking too much for his middle England house, which the rest of middle England cannot afford to get a reasonable mortgage on."

INFORMATION: Stacks Property Search & Acquisition (01594 842 880); County Homesearch (01872 223 349).

:: GOLDEN OLDIES SEEK TO CASH IN ON PROPERTY

The prospect of property prices possibly falling until December 2009 is persuading older homeowners to cash in and unlock money that might give them a comfortable old age.

Mark Neal launched Find & Afford for over-65 year olds in April 2007. This enables homeowners to sell homes for their full market value and then choose another on a lifetime tenancy from Find & Afford.

It's the latest variation on lifetime leases that the Neal family pioneered over 30 years ago.

The plan basically allows over-60s to jump off the housing ladder and to spend some of the £775bn that they are reckoned to hold in bricks and mortar.

They can use the money released to boost retirement income, travel the world, settle debts, and even provide an early inheritance for younger members of their family.

Homeowners will realise the sum raised from selling their homes has dropped significantly in the past year, but lifetime tenancies should have fallen too.

Obviously, the lifetime lease sharply reduces the estate which most people leave when they die, because their home is then fully owned by Find & Afford. But many dream of victory over the taxman by avoiding Inheritance Tax (IHT).

"Older people have been hard hit by soaring rises in the cost of living - particularly council tax, energy bills, food and motoring costs," Neal says.

"While demand for lifetime leases is growing, our problem in some cases is helping people to sell their present homes at an acceptable price. Some clients move from large detached houses, mindful of IHT liabilities overhanging their finances."

Neal says that on average, Find & Afford clients move into a home valued at £195,000 - which can be a new home, a retirement flat or bungalow. The lifetime lease allows an average 41% discount, meaning they pay only £110,000.

Neal says the breakthrough for his scheme came when it allowed pensioners to choose whatever home they liked. Initially it provided the homes too, which didn't appeal to some customers.

The discount on a lifetime lease is decided by the buyer's age: a couple in their early 60s, for instance, will pay 76% of open market value, with the hope of rent-free living for decades.

By contrast, a single man of 82 pays only 38% of open market value - because his occupation will be much shorter.

Neal says the number of purchases that his firm fixes up is fast approaching 1,000 a year. Among his funders is Grainger Trust, a £300m public company that is one of Britain's biggest residential landlords.

"Transaction levels are holding up well," he says.

"In many ways, the crisis in the housing market forces people to take stock of their position, and to plan likely financial needs in retirement."

INFORMATION: Find & Afford is provided by Homewise, on 0800 043 3366 or at www.findandafford.co.uk.

:: MERSEYSIDE SCHEME RESCUES BLIGHTED STREETS

The success of a major Merseyside refurbishment project suggests the key to widening home ownership might lie in allowing people to restore the older houses standing derelict in many of our towns and cities.

Riverside Housing, part of a group that owns or manages around 50,000 homes throughout England, is selling houses from £41,250 on The Wirral, £45,000 in Liverpool, £46,875 in Sefton and £50,625 in St Helens.

In each case, those prices reflect a discount of 25% on open market value - which the owners will only have to pay back if they sell within five years.

Beyond that time limit, they are able to resell on the open market and keep every penny of profit for themselves.

The scheme, called Own Place, groups together homes owned by Riverside Housing in streets that have usually become blighted by boarded-up properties, buy-to-let landlords and short-term tenants.

Some of the houses lack bathrooms or kitchens, while others are less severely damaged. In every case, buyers plan to restore them either by their own skills, or with the help of friends working in the building industry.

Riverside Housing undertakes to bring the homes only to a standard which will enable buyers to get a mortgage - and the open market value of the property is then discounted by 25% to give buyers an incentive to bring the property back into a good condition.

John Williams of Brennan Ayre O'Neill, an estate agent on The Wirral working with Riverside on the project, says: "The aim in every case is to produce a mixed tenure scenario.

"There are areas where private landlords have taken over whole streets, which can lead to anti-social people when residents are staying for only a short period.

"With owner occupation, people have a long-term incentive in taking much better care of their environment.

"In one street, a cul de sac called Longfellow Street in Bootle, the transformation is dramatic. When I first saw it, there were 10 homes boarded up. Now the residents there take a real pride in their environment."

Brothers Alan, 22, and David Carrera, 21, bought houses just three doors apart in Bootle.

"I didn't think much about buying a place of my own until my dad discovered Own Place on the internet," Alan says.

"My house does need some work, but you can't argue with the price.

"Structurally, it is sound. It just needs some superficial work like a new kitchen, new carpets and decorating."

David, who paid £46,875 for a home valued at just over £62,400, says: "I was surprised the property was in such good condition, other than needing a new kitchen and bathroom."

Williams says buyers are subjected to an affordability test to ensure that they can absorb mortgage repayments while they carry out repairs. Applicants are also considered if they are moving into jobs in Merseyside, alongside the locals.

"Some houses have gone to Polish buyers, others to service personnel serving in Iraq," he says.

"We don't expect much trouble in selling the rest, which you can't say for plenty of the other homes on sale in the North West."

There is, however, no sign as to whether the scheme can be rolled out in other areas of the country, and crackdowns on Government spending could hold back plans to do so.

But Williams says Own Place has already proved to be a highly effective way of spending public money.

"When homes in public sector ownership are repaired, they tend to do a root and branch refurbishment designed to last 25 years.

"Own Place relies on individuals to carry out the work with their own skills and in their own time - in return for the 25% discount. If they sell up within that five year limit, they have to repay 20% of the discount for each year they fail to occupy the property."

INFORMATION: Details of Own Place and application packs are available on 0151 343 1170 and www.ownplace.org. Send email enquiries to enquiries@ownplace.co.uk.