Fancy meeting someone through the small ads? Someone who wants to sell you your ideal home, that is. You write your own advert - “House wanted by cash buyer. Must be Edwardian, four beds, large kitchen/family room, secluded garden, near town centre” – then wait for the response from frustrated sellers and find your match.

Sounds too good to be true? Not in this market. Both buyers and sellers are trying out the classifieds, posting their ads somewhere between the “romance wanted”, “used sports equipment” and “pets for sale” columns.

Anyone starting a new job or trying to get their children into a school will know exactly what they want, where they are looking and their budget, and many of them are using the small ads to their advantage. The tactic is worthwhile for buyers because they can pick up the perfect property at a good price from a desperate vendor. And sellers fed up with agents sending them prospective purchasers who haven’t yet sold their own homes are going it alone.

Whether you’re looking for a downsizer’s cottage or a country pile, the outlay is minimal – £40-£50 for a couple of lines. At the top end, one recent advertiser offered £8m for “a period house in a rural location in Oxon/Wilts/Glos with 5/6 bedrooms and no less than 25 acres. Vendor pays no fees”. Tempted?

Apart from “house wanted” adverts, buyers looking for a deal could do worse than peruse the sellers’ small ads in local and national newspapers, as well as specialist magazines. Spotted last week was a seven-bedroom Victorian house in Cardiganshire, near the coast, with a two-bed annexe, all for £599,000.

John Crampton, a writer, is helping his mother to sell a Grade II*-listed “hidden gem” – a three-bed cottage in Colnbrook, Berkshire – for £369,950. He has gone for a three-line ad without a picture, but with a website, www. timetothyme.co.uk.

And in the Vintage Sports-Car Club’s newsletter, one seller, whose home in Surrey has a barn big enough for several vehicles, placed an advert in the hope of attracting a car collector. He has had 11 responses so far and has placed an ad in two other motoring publications.

“We wouldn’t have thought of doing that ourselves,” admits George Bur-nand, a partner in Strutt & Parker’s country department, who is marketing the property. “We are handling the responses, so we’re still in the loop.”

The trend has not been lost on sharp investors. “It’s worth combing the back pages,” says London-based Michael Litman, who manages a large property portfolio and is looking for new-build opportunities. “I’ve picked up deals this way. I’ve just responded to one offering new apartments, so we’ll see what happens.”

Discounts of up to 20% can be had on new-builds through the small ads, according to Ben Babbington, head of new homes in Greater London for Jackson-Stops & Staff. He recently placed an advert offering “significant opportunities” on new homes at various stages of construction. “We’ve had responses from experienced dealers and from people wanting to invest in an apartment for their children’s future,” Babbington says.

Ed Mead, a director of the Chelsea-based estate agency Douglas & Gordon, believes the smart money is on the small ads. “The clever investor goes the extra mile and looks through these carefully,” he says.

Some vendors still believe that they can buck the market trend and put in their advertisements with prices above those for comparable property in their area – but success, of course, is no more guaranteed in the small ads than anywhere else. Getting the price right is the only thing that really matters.

“We frequently use the classifieds for current client requirements, in the hope that there is a seller who might prefer a discreet transaction, or to save marketing costs,” says Ross Ward, manager of the property-finder Pereds, who placed the wanted ad for the £8m pile on behalf of a client.

“If a seller has a suitable, unflawed property, we may well have a client who would pay full price. We are a little more successful with these ads in the current climate because the best houses won’t be put on the open market right now. If a potential seller sees our ad, they may decide to call.” So, any luck yet with this one? “I have been to see one house,” Ward says guardedly.

Welcome to the swap shop

The private ads are also the place to seek out house-swappers – those wishing to exchange their property for another. If you manage a successful swap, it means no agents’ fees, though if you’re going it alone, the risks are all yours, too. Here are some tips:

1 Be wary: get a survey of the property you are swapping for and check everything is in order before agreeing the final move.

2 A straight swap is rare, so the one with the less valuable house will have to pay the difference (through solicitors, as normal). Make sure funds are available and be prepared to haggle, as you would in any property transaction, before and after a survey. If there’s a dispute, contact the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (www.rics.org ).

3 Give as much detail as possible to get the most useful response. Location is key, so decide how wide you want to cast your net first.

4 Online, www.swap-homes.com registers your home and what you’re after, then searches for a match. It costs £34.99 to register, and the site accepts no liability. For private ads, try www.homeswapper4sale.co.uk or www.gumtree.com . Post as many pictures and ask as many questions as possible.

5 Target certain people when you place your ad. Prime swappers include divorcing couples, with both partners needing to find something smaller in exchange for the family home, and downsizing couples, who could potentially exchange with growing families.

6 Stamp duty still applies – for the time being, at least – to exchanged properties, so get a valuation to find out what bracket yours comes under. If swapping an investment property, you still have to pay capital-gains tax.

7 Don’t discount estate agents: some have started swaps as a service, with the seller paying fees as normal. Alistair Stevens, an area estate agency manager for Alan Kirkham, covering Greater Manchester, has been engineering swaps to get chains moving. “We struggle to find buyers at the bottom end, but someone further up the chain may buy the lowest rung as an investment,” he says.

8 If placing an ad, consider setting up a separate e-mail address to deal with inquiries, but include a phone number, too. For security, use a mobile rather than your home line. If you’re selling, a video or photo gallery on a website is essential.

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