DavelJ,
I believe you have said before, that people who sold at the peak were part of “the problem”. Now you say you have no problem with the ethics of getting your foot in the door as low as possible as long as it is legal,maybe not even “arms length”. Where is there a difference? It certainly is not illegal to sell your house, arms length, at a high price, when prices are high.

Some of the scenarios painted here,on this thread, seem like “buddy system” type deals. While there is nothing wrong with treating a friend well,of course, I have always hated the “buddy system” of benefits and access to opportunity. It’s unethical or often leads to unethical behavior, sometimes to extremes.In most cases pocket listings have potential for conflicts of interests that should be avoided.