Has it ever happened that you find the ideal house and, when you decide to move forward, it’s already reserved? This kind of speech is something we constantly hear in videos and posts from real estate agencies. They tell you that good opportunities disappear in a matter of hours, that you must have a mortgage pre-approval ready, that it’s not worth negotiating cents, that you must decide quickly.
But all of that is nothing more than a strategy to speed up the sale. It’s the most elegant —and the most dangerous— way to emotionally pressure people.
Agencies take advantage of people’s fear of “missing the opportunity,” of the idea of scarcity, and above all, of the myth of the “dream house.” They sell us the concept of “conquering your home” as if it were a life mission, when in reality they are manipulating a basic human need: having a home, a personal space, a sense of stability.
The problem is that this “dream house” doesn’t exist —at least not in the second-hand market, which is where most people buy.
If you’re going to buy a house that’s already built, used, owned by someone else, it’s never going to be exactly as you imagined it your whole life. For that, you’d have to buy land, hire an architect, and build it from scratch, taking care of every detail to your liking. Let’s be honest: that’s out of reach for most people.
In the end, people don’t buy what they want, they buy what they can afford. If the bank approves you for a €100,000 loan, your house won’t be “the house of your dreams,” it will be a €100,000 house. Within that range, you’ll choose what best fits your needs, not your fantasies.
Here comes another of the system’s great mind games: the credit pre-approval. Agencies recommend having it “ready before visiting houses,” as if that made you a stronger buyer. But what it does is put you in countdown mode. Because that credit approval has a limited validity —six months, usually— and that creates a sense of urgency that pushes you to buy now, even if you haven’t found the right house.
I went through that myself. I got the pre-approval, and the real estate agent started pressuring me because it was going to expire: six months to find something or “lose” the opportunity.
And of course, you start thinking that if you don’t use it now, you’ll be penalized, or that later they won’t approve it again. But that’s not true. If they approve a loan for you today, it’s because your current financial conditions allow it. If in a few months your situation is the same, they’ll approve it again. You’re not losing anything.
The system, however, wants you to believe that you’re losing time, that the market is slipping away, that if you don’t decide quickly, you’ll lose your house and your credit. It’s a perfect circle of emotional and financial pressure, designed to make you act impulsively.
Then there’s the tale of the “fair price.” Who defines what a fair price is? The real estate agent who wants to sell you the house as soon as possible? Because let’s be serious, right now in Portugal there’s no such thing as a fair price.
Prices are completely out of control. A property that in 2022 cost €150,000 today can be €400,000 or more, without anything changing other than the market narrative.
So, when they tell you that “if the property is at a fair price, don’t waste time negotiating,” what they’re really saying is: don’t think, just buy. And when they add that “the offers that get accepted are the ones that match the asking price or even go slightly above,” what they’re really doing is creating a false competition among buyers to see who offers more money for a property that already has an absurd price.
The result is an increasingly irrational market, where prices rise not because of real value, but because of collective anxiety.
The agencies are happy: they live off that anxiety, feed it, and turn it into commissions while doing practically nothing.
If we add the pressure to decide quickly, the cocktail is complete. They tell you that if you don’t make an immediate decision, you’ll lose the “ideal house,” the “opportunity of the year,” the “perfect home.” But what they’re really doing is generating anxiety and haste. And when a person is anxious and pressured, they don’t make good decisions.
The result is that people end up buying overpriced houses that aren’t the best fit for them, taking on huge bank loans without enough time to analyse them properly.
Buying a house is a decision that should be taken calmly: organizing your finances, seeking advice, visiting several properties, even bringing in professionals to evaluate the real condition of the property.
Especially in Portugal, after my own experience being scammed in the purchase of a house, I believe the most sensible thing is to hand all the documentation to an independent lawyer to review every detail carefully.
Because in Portugal, even notaries and solicitors agree to carry out illegal property sales.
Not only that: you must request information yourself, in person. Don’t even trust the lawyer 100%. Go to the city hall and request all the documentation you can: licenses, records, plans, urban situation. And be patient, because that’s not something you get overnight. Requesting an urban plan, for example, can take months. So again, the idea of a “quick” purchase is totally absurd.
This whole process takes time; it requires patience and verification. Yet the market —with its agents, banks, and notaries included— pushes you in the opposite direction: to buy quickly, without looking, without thinking, without asking too many questions.
And that’s how this real estate disaster we’re living in Portugal continues: with inflated prices, irregular properties, institutions that look the other way, and a system that feeds off people’s illusion and desperation.
Because when the market tells you to “think less and act faster,” it’s probably because there’s something they don’t want you to see.
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