Sellers bidding against each other, room for a better deal?

BungalowBel

EssexHebridean said:

Are the two properties identical then? I mean in terms of finish, any work required etc? Otherwise surely this is comparing apples and oranges?

It does strike me as a shame that people can’t just be transparent and honest in their dealings though. It’s reached the stage now where agents look at you blankly if you say you want to be ethical and honest about things and not play games - and that applies whether you are selling or buying. We’ve agreed that we are intending to treat other parties as we would want to be treated ourselves - whilst not a huge believer in karma, at least I’ll be able to sit comfortably with my own conscience later. 

We sold a house in a country where it is common practice to underdeclare how much you have sold it for and have some money 'under the counter' in cash, to avoid tax.  We told our solicitor we didn't want to do this and to declare the full price.  He must have asked us ten times if we were sure, and pointed out that we would be liable for more tax. We stuck to our guns, and ended up not paying much tax anyway, by the time the solicitor had set legitimate costs against it.  Always best to do it legally, in my book.