The art of buying
Well now how do we know if an agent is telling the truth or Lying.
Most of the time we`d find it by doing our own research. In my case i just checked the how much the house sold for 2 yrs back and decided that a 9% increase from last sale was a good figure to pay for it. However sometimes it might take a lot more. things about legal extensions, downstairs bedroom being legal height, dead bodies and skeletons in the attic etc would probably need more investigations.
But the Key would be by asking as many questions for which you already know the answer for or have a fair idea about what the answer would most likely be. Then you have something to comapre the agents answers with and decide what is a small twist of the truth and what is utter BS.
To Let you in on a few secrets ( may not be secrets anymore), the Agents work on impulses and they will sell to your impulses.
a few examples
Buyer : oh but the other houses are selling at much lower price
Agent ( uses feel/felt/found ) : i Know exactly what u feel, a lot of the other people felt the same way before they put it their offers cause what they found was even though there are 6 dead people in the attic there is so much potential in this house that later when you do just a couple of renovations or maybe turn the garage into a bedroom it will increase the value by a signifant margin than the rest of the houses around.
Buyer: oh that sounds fair then... by the way how many people have put offers we can only afford X so dont know if the seller would really be interested.
Agent: sorry but we are not allowed to disclose those details but if i was you id put in an offer and have a shot incase the others arnt high enuf as i have to take every offer which falls in the sellers bracket to the owner.
Buyer : alrite then i will come on monday and put in my offer.
Agent
fear of loss) Oh actually the owner is here only on weekends and i am supposed to take all the contracts to him tonite so if he accepts one you might miss out.
Buyer: Oh but i need to consult with my husband/grandfather/Donald Trump/SS forum/Ozzy Osbourne before i put Pen on Paper
Agent: ( give two options while maintaining fear of loss) What i would suggest is you sign the contract and consult with them and call me if you change your mind and do not want me to take it or you can consult with them and call me on monday to see if the place is still available.
Buyer: oh how likely is it that the offers would be accepted
Agent: ( the final nail) i am sorry again but i cant disclose that but from my experience in the past week properties in this area are selling faster than the new harry potter book. But i may be wrong and you might still be able to put in an offer, however i doubt it very much.
I am sure that most of the experienced buyers would see right through whats happening here. Also The agents hasnt lied about anything but has managed to force/persuade/trick/play you into making an uninformed decision by using simple impulse factors.
not too effective against investors but works like a charm with first home buyers since most of the time the purchase has a lot of emotional investment in it