“Transference” has been around for a long time. What it means in the context of this post is the ascribing or motives which the person on the other side has, and maybe always had, to you. As an example, suppose your are about to finish up an Offer with a listing of yours, and the Buyer’s agent, on the other side, says “How do I know that by the time of closing, you will not substitute a range of lower quality for the range that currently exists?”  Well, you and I know  that this kind of conduct is nothing short of unethical, and may be criminal, but you deal with this issue by telling the Buyer’s agent either that you will put the make and serial number of the appliance on the Offer, or you will “tag” this, and every other appliance, with stickers initialed by both of the realtors.

In other words, there are ways to deal with the “slime ball” on the other side, but now you are sure of who she or he is, and you can make judgments in the future that involve being very defensive and precautionary. By using “transference” you have figured out with whom you are dealing. That can come in handy all the way down the road to closing.

In my practice, I have seen “transference” manifest itself in many ways. When an opposing attorney says to me “How do I know you will not give the keys to the Buyer before I inform you that the Deed is on record?”, I realize that that premature releasing of keys , probably more out of sloth than anything else, is this attorney’s way of doing business. I make a note to get everything in writing with this person in future deals. When a person on the other side accuses me of “back-dating” a document (not something I do), I am reasonably certain that documents I receive from that person may well not contain the actual date they were signed.

The bottom line here is that  using”transference” can give you a necessary advantage when dealing with someone on the other side who does not have your high ethical standard. Listen for tell-tale remarks of transference that may give you clues. In the end, “forewarned is forearmed”, and you can learn a lot about the person on the other side from his or her requests or articulated concerns. We are all “detectives” , anxious to obtain the best results we can for our clients no matter who is on the other side. Effective use of transference can help us attain this goal.