A recent BBC "Whistleblower" programme sent two reporters undercover to look at some of the practices used by some rogue agents in the estate agency world. What they found was rather scary, writes David Lawrenson.

Over-valuing properties and softening up.

Rogue estate agents know that sellers want the highest price for their properties. So, they value it higher than other agents - claiming that they can easily get a buyer at that price. The rogue agent knows that in reality it will impossible to get a buyer at that price.

So, what happens next is a process of "softening up." The purpose of this is to lower the seller's expectations and this is done by making up fictitious offers at well below the required price.

Eventually, so the theory goes, the seller gets used to the possibility of a lower price so that, when a genuine offer comes along, they will be more likely to accept.