Being a sensible home seller, you schedule appointments with three local listing agents who’ve been hanging stuff on your front doorknob for years. Each Realtor comes prepared with a "Competitive Market Analysis" on fancy paper and they each recommend a sales price.

A couple of the Realtors -- amazingly -- have come up with prices lower than expected. Although they back up their recommendations with recent sales data of similar homes, you remain convinced the house is worth more.

But the third agent’s figures are much more in line with your anticipated value, or maybe even higher. Suddenly, you are a happy and excited home seller, already counting the money.

But which Realtor do you choose?

If you’re like many people, you pick Realtor number three. This is an agent who seems willing to listen to input and work with you. This is an agent that cares about putting the most money in your pocket. This is an agent that is willing to start at your price and if needed can drop it later -- you can do that easily, right? After all, everyone else does it.

But the truth is you may have just met an agent engaging in a questionable sales practice called "buying a listing."

They "bought" the listing by suggesting you might be able to get a higher sales price than the other agents recommended. Most likely, they are doubtful the home will sell at that price. The intention from the beginning was to eventually talk you into lowering the price.

Why do agents "buy" listings?

There are basically two reasons. A well-meaning and hard-working agent can feel pressure from a homeowner who has an inflated perception of their home’s value. On the other hand, some agents engage in this sales practice routinely.

Whichever the case, starting with too high a price on a home, may just added to your stress level -- and selling a home is stressful enough. There will be a lot of "behind-the-scenes" action taking place that you don’t know about.

Contrary to popular opinion, the listing agent does not usually attempt to sell your home; that isn’t very efficient.

Listing agents market and promote homes to hordes of local agents who do work with homebuyers, dramatically increasing your personal sales force. During the first couple of weeks, a home should be a flurry of activity with buyer’s agents coming to preview your home so they can sell it to their clients -- if the price is right.

If you and your agent have overpriced, fewer agents will preview a home. They are Realtors, after all, and it is their job to know local market conditions and home values. If a house is dramatically above market, why waste time? Their time is better spent previewing homes that are priced realistically.

Later, when the price drops, your house is "old news." You will never be able to recapture that flurry of initial activity you would have had with a realistic price. Your house could take longer to sell.

Even if you do successfully sell at an above market price, your buyer will need a mortgage. The mortgage lender requires an appraisal. If comparable sales for the last six months and current market conditions do not support a sales price, the house won’t appraise -- and the deal falls apart.

Of course, you can always attempt to renegotiate the price, but only if the buyer is willing to listen. Your house could go "back on the market."

Once a home has fallen out of escrow or sits on the market a while, it is harder to get a good offer. Potential buyers will think you might be getting desperate, so they will make lower offers. By overpricing a home in the beginning, it's possible to end up settling for a lower price than you would have normally received.

And, remember those two conscientious agents who got aced out of the listing?

If your listing agent routinely engages in "buying" listings, they probably aced out scores of agents in the same way. Being human, Realtors talk to each other. If they don’t like your listing agent, not as many of them will be showing your home.

In short, you may have ended up with an agent who was good at selling you, but not good at selling your house -- and you’re going to pay them a commission for it.

It is human nature to want the highest price for your home. But, by choosing the agent who promises what you want to hear, it often leads to stress and frustration.

Most of the time, it will take longer to sell your home and you will possibly end up selling at a lower price instead.

Or maybe, you will choose one of the "good" Realtors in the first place.

They are out there.