The most important real estate article of the month

I’m Rona Fischman. I’m your real estate broker voice, for now. I am not your typical Realtor. I have been a buyer’s broker - working only for buyers - for 14 years. Let me tell you, 14 years ago my peers in real estate were sure that I had horns and was sent from Satan. Now, there is a “buyer’s broker” or two in every firm. Go figure...If you are a buyer, think of me as Virgil -- your guide through Hell and Purgatory.

When I look at the most-sent articles from Boston.com, I see these being sent: 10 mistakes, prices going down, foreclosures going up, increased sales, and bidding wars. IMHO, the most important real estate article of the month hardly got forwarded.

The article that could have saved buyers tens of thousands of dollars was this one in the Ideas section.

I have been warning my buyers for years about what I call “The EBay Mistake.” That when someone pays more at auction than the “Buy-it-Now” price. When you buy a house, that is a mistake you can’t afford!

Now our first topic: bidding wars.
How do you get what you want without throwing piles of money away? If you have been in a bidding war, how did you fare? Did you make “The EBay Mistake”?