MADAM – I wholly concur with the sentiment expressed by your reader Robert Pugh (ATG No 2407) that ‘good luck’ stories are just as often ‘bad luck’ stories.
But it’s more than that: for every find at a charity shop or flea market, there will be dozens of instances of estate properties, in particular, being sold for a song to a local trader or, worse, to a ‘friend of the deceased’ for a pittance.
It is my professional opinion, both as a long-time auctioneer and as the lawyer I once was, that all estate properties of value should be disposed of at an appropriate public auction. The process is transparent and the sellers will see that the outcome reflects the market on the day.