I chatted to the estate agent about the house I put an offer in (and had declined). I explained how I was still interested in the property, but didn't want to get into a bidding competition. I commented that it was "Like eBay, but with higher stakes.".

He wasn't that impressed.

So I upped my offer.

I await news of whether I've just made the house more expensive (without having my offer accepted), or whether I've just created an urgent need to arrange mortgage/survey/etc.

Though I usually feel quite dispassionate about money, doing this sort of buying does make me feel a bit excitable (not necessarily in a good way). To put things in context, my the offer I put in on my first house, bought back in October 1998, was for an amount which is exactly one fifth of the amount I have just offered on a Reading property in October 2006. Though a telephone offer for a house is not legally binding, and there is always the opportunity of a surveyor's report to demonstrate why I should run and feel lucky for doing so, I feel a bit like I just leapt down one of the "Hell Slides" at Lightwater Valley.

A "yes" or "no" at this stage would be equally big a deal.