Defending Against Real Estate Agent Negotiation Tactics - Fictional Adversary

In real estate transactions, we often encounter the tactic of referring to a third party who is not present. This strategy is typically used to defend indefensible positions and is often employed by real estate agents.

Common forms of this tactic:

1. "The seller insists on it." In many cases, it’s unlikely that the seller truly insists on a clause that goes against their own interests and that they never heard about.

2. "Our lawyers insist on it." When it comes to an obviously disadvantageous or nonsensical condition, it’s questionable whether the lawyers really insist on it.

3. "This template comes from headquarters, we can’t change it." Most real estate agents are independent contractors and can adjust contracts as needed.

How to respond? It may be tempting to call out such manipulation directly and label it as a lie, but this often just disrupts the negotiation. A better approach is to calmly ask:

"What exactly is the issue that person would have with it?" If you receive a reasonable answer, you can try to find a mutually acceptable solution. But if the other party is simply looking for excuses to defend an unacceptable demand, it may be appropriate to use a similar tactic yourself.

Use your own "unyielding third party". If the other side is invoking a fictional authority, you can do the same—of course, without making false claims:

• "My wife would never let me sign something like this."

• "My boss is allergic to this type of clause—I can’t even show it to him."

This isn’t a lie, if it is a reasonable assumption that someone relevant to you would object to the problematic clause.

You can also ask: "If that person agreed to it, would you have a problem changing it?" If the answer is "no," you might suggest calling that person directly. This can push the other party toward more constructive negotiation and increase your chances of reaching a fair deal.