Has anyone been successful buying a house following leafleting an area?

[slackrunner]

There's so little stock on the market that I was wondering about leafleting letter boxes to say that we could be interested in buying the house. I'm not sure whether this is a good plan in the current climate, as we'd not be prepared to pay daft money for a place, and this could create the impression that we're desperado.

Anyone had any success doing this?

If your vendor is valuing too highly, offer them the asking price.

Bargain them down once the mortgage valuation comes in - surveyors have been downvaluing houses by 10-15% in my supposedly "buoyant" and "crashproof" local market of west London.

If your vendor really does want to sell, but refuses to meet the lender's valuation, they're going to have to wait for a vendor who is 100% cash, and there aren't many of those out there.