"Never Ask a Barber if You Need a Haircut" ..

is a famous quote that a number of well known people like to use when try to make the point that depending on who you ask the person giving you advice may not always have your interests in mind. If a barber talks you into getting a haircut whether you need it or not it is money in his pocket. The same can apply to real estate and if a real estate salesman talks you into buying a property by saying it's a good time to buy it's money in his pocket and it's also probably safe to say that it would have been a good time to get a haircut as well.

Other analogies, asking a real estate agent if it is a good time to buy is like:

1) Asking President Bush if the war in Iraq is going well (remember "mission accomplished")
2) Asking the CEO of Bear Stearns if they are in trouble (remember just days prior to the meltdown he went on the record and said they had ample liquidity)
3) Asking someone from Countrywide if now would be a good time to take out a no money down subprime loan for a house selling at twice what it sold for only a few years ago
4) Asking President Bush if the economy is improving

You get the point, which is be careful blindly trusting the advice of those who have their own agenda or motivation. And apparently I'm not the only one to notice this either. See what this site about the top mistakes in real estate has to say under the heading "Using a Lender Solely Recommended by your Realtor". Buyer beware.

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