I would like to voice some dissent. I think that consequentially, organizations like the Real Estate industry are capitalizing on social niceness to get more money out of both the buyer and seller. Individual agents are in it for themselves, and are not being truthful if they claim to have your interests in mind. This is largely true of the entire service industry. Not to say they are evil, should be destroyed, or whatever. But since they are using social dark arts to get your money, I see little problem with using whatever tools at your disposal to keep them from it. Like the wolves, they may not know better, but they are still preying on you.

One feature of a lot of organizations is that the agent has some discretion, but the option that helps you the most is often less convenient. If the person likes you, or if you are related to someone they consider important, or if you can bribe or threaten them in the right way, the world is far more open to you than if you quietly accept your fate. This is similar to the situation in the book Games Prisoners Play when a new inmate to a prison was asked a key phrase in the form of a yes-no question. If they answered in the affirmative or negative, they were obviously new and were treated as such (worse if they lied). If they knew the proper answer, they were immediately afforded some level of respect.

If you can't identify when you are playing a game, you are bound to lose it, and you will pay for it.