10 Tips for Lie-Proofing a Home Closing, Pt. 1

It's a tense time – you've found the perfect house or apartment – and now there's no going back. You're negotiating everything -- from the price, to the move-out date, to that cool light fixture. But woven into negotiations are multiple opportunities for deception. How can you lie-proof the close?

I wrote my book "Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception" to give ordinary people access to the professional techniques practiced by law enforcement negotiators and intelligence investigators. Here are the first five of my 10 tips for those crucial just-before-the-finishing-line days:


1. Be aware – you will be lied to. When the stakes are high, studies show that those given a chance to lie will almost always take that chance. And the bigger the sale (and the larger the potential losses) the more likely the parties involved in the transaction are to lie. Many who do lie when the stakes are so high, claim to feel little guilt – they see it as justifiable self defense. So keep your eyes wide open. The good news? With such high stakes, it's also easier to spot deception – the give-away clues are far more evident and easy to read.

Read on for more of Pamela Meyer's Liespotting tips.