To what lengths would you go to secure your dream home? Would you promise to care for the owner’s beloved pets? Or let the seller live with you for a year?

Almost 40pc of homes were subject to bidding wars last year as more than a million hopeful buyers threw money at an overheated property market. Sellers were flooded by high offers and a record number sold for over their asking price, according to Hamptons estate agency.

But in this cut-throat market it is not enough to simply be the highest bidder to outmanoeuvre rivals. So aspiring buyers have adopted drastic measures to seal the deal.

Offering to look after pets and wildlife left at the property often clinched home sales, said Bruce King, of estate agency Cheffins. “We recently had a vendor who was worried the new owner would not look after his koi carp in the pond. The buyer who said he would care for the fish immediately became the favourite, regardless of whether he was offering the highest amount of money.

“In this market, buyers are agreeing to all sorts of scenarios as they know they need to be flexible to win. Begging letters have become rather old hat now,” said Mr King.

Successful buyers have wooed sellers by promising to care for bees, elderly cats and birds. Helen Whitfield, of Strutt & Parker estate agency, said: “I sold a property in the Cotswolds which was locked in a bidding war and the sellers, who had lived there for 30 years, were struggling to choose between the parties. The successful buyer eventually won by agreeing that the swifts which had nested in the stone walls would not be displaced.”

Cash was not always enough to win over protective sellers, especially those in tight-knit villages who were keen to preserve their way of life from an influx of urbanites. Some, particularly in West Country communities taken over by holiday lets, have sought assurances that buyers’ children would attend local schools.

Jemma Scott, of The Buying Solution, a buying agent, said: “For many sellers, it is about entrusting their home to someone for another generation. If you want to move to the country and embrace village life, our advice is to show the seller that, rather than just saying it.”

One client made a five-hour round trip to “bump into” the sellers at Sunday lunch at the local pub in south Oxfordshire, said Ms Scott. “Another attended the village church service where they knew the vendor arranged the flowers, under the guise of being keen to check out the service.

“It sounds cynical, but it was all done with good intentions and is a good way of showing you are keen to immerse yourself in the community,” she added.

A huge shortage of homes for sale has deterred many would-be vendors, because they cannot find another home to buy. Others have pulled out of a sale mid-deal in fear of being left homeless.

That means flexibility is a big bargaining chip for buyers. Sharnie Rogers, of Strutt & Parker in Suffolk, said: “One deal was agreed based on the vendor remaining in the annexe once the new buyer had moved in, until he found somewhere else to buy. 

“A year on they’re still living with the same arrangement and enjoying the company.”