Thinking quickly he apologised profusely saying that the house owner had been taken ill and the visit

Thinking quickly, he apologised profusely, saying that the house owner had been taken ill and the visit couldn't go ahead. He felt vindicated when another agent boasted a few days later that he had just sold a pounds 1m house. The "buyer" was Mr Smelly, and of course he never completed.A bogus buyer is currently infuriating agents, surveyors and house-sellers in Suffolk. Guy Jenkinson, of Bidwell's Ipswich office, who is chairman of the National Association of Estate Agents, is seeking legal advice about circulating the man's name and address to all member agents in Suffolk and north Essex "He has three aliases. James Gubbins, of Daunton's, was irritated by a woman who kept asking to look at houses that he was convinced she couldn't afford. Then came the day when she wandered into the office with a pram full of banknotes and actually bought one.On the other hand, David Allason, from Hamptons, blesses the day he met a man off the train and decided he was simply too smelly and tramp-like to trail around the Georgian gem he had come to inspect.

One, they are too enthusiastic, and make offers too close to the asking price Two, they tend to turn up in a taxi or on a train. The third sign that something is a bit dubious is that they only give their mobile phone numbers. They tend to like to show off to their friends, so you can expect two or three visits with chums or girlfriends in tow."The one lesson all estate agents have learnt is never to snub a potential buyer because he or she looks down-at-heel. It is as if the heat sets them off."They can be very convincing and cunning. Some telephone us from someone else's office, so when we ring them back we think they have a solid job."There are three giveaways. "At the top of the market," he says, "the majority of people in a position to buy will be those we have already heard of, and they will have accountants and lawyers."The fantasists usually come out in the summer.

They go about things with such style that they convince others. Most suffer from low self-esteem and move into a fantasy world to boost their self-image."Ian Stewart, from Savills' country house department, boasts that he can always sniff out fantasists, despite a brief dalliance last summer with a Nigerian "princess" purporting to be looking for a big house. They say that far from being on the brink of bankruptcy, they are about to buy a big house, and suggest that creditors ring us to check."Generally, fantasists have no ulterior motives except the joy of kidding themselves and their friends that they are big shots."The psychologist Jane Townsend says, "These people get super-confident and believe they can overcome enormous obstacles. We found out later that he was living in a council house and had been up for falsely claiming housing benefit."One dreamer is doing the rounds at the moment, but the local surveyors have been tipped off and they are asking for their fee up front, which is spoiling his fun."The most dangerous type are the conmen who make offers on expensive houses to ward off their creditors. The governor looked scornfully and said, 'Bedford, you can hire them by the day.' He was right.