Two businessmen, competitors, run into each other at a train station. One of them says that he is going to Minsk to buy cotton. The other man replies: “The reason you say you are going to Minsk to buy cotton is because you know I will not believe you and you are trying to trick me to believe that you are going to Pinsk to buy wheat. But you can’t fool me: You are going to Minsk to buy cotton. Liar!

No one wants to get snookered, and, let’s face it; suspicion can run rampant in a real estate transaction. If they say they are going to Minsk, are they really going to Pinsk? If they say that there is a competing buyer, are they trying to trick you?

Recently, a buyer’s agent left his client a message telling him that the listing agent for a property in which the client was about to make an offer had called to let him know that there was another offer, and to suggest that in order to acquire the property, it would be wise to offer “his highest and best.” Previously, the buyer’s agent, at his client’s instructions, had prepared a low offer meant as an opening gambit. In the message to his client, the buyer’s agent asked whether he wanted to revise the offer in light being warned about the competing offer.

Later that day, returning to his office from appointments, the buyer’s agent checked his telephone messages. There was a message from the listing agent saying that he had received the client’s offer, but that the seller had decided to accept the competing offer. The next message was from the client, saying that he was certain that the “competing buyer is imaginary,” a ploy meant to stampede him into paying more for the property than he had to, and that therefore he had faxed the “opening gambit” offer to the listing agent.

And so, the “imaginary” buyer prevailed. Minsk-Pinsk, Pinsk-Minsk!

While it does happen, in most cases a broker will not lie to another broker about a competing offer. For one thing, the long-term damage to the broker’s credibility is a strong deterrent.

Of course the other party in a negotiation will do whatever they can to advance their objectives, just as you will. And you should be cautious to verify all material claims about a property. But too much emphasis on ploys, maneuvers, and second-guessing can distract from the real issue: What is the value of the property?

Clever strategizing can never substitute for gathering facts about the merits of the property, and making a dispassionate evaluation of its market value.