What's the difference between hailing a taxi and buying an apartment?

What's the difference between hailing a taxi and buying an apartment?

So in this country, you call a cab. He stops.
 "Where are you going?" He says.
"Dekwaneh"
He now eyes you from the top down.
 "50,000 LL," he says, if you look like a foreigner, especially a Khaliji.
"40,000 LL," he says, if you're wearing a Rolex (even a fake one) or well dressed or look like an expat.
Now you start negotiating.
"No, 1,000 LL"
"Ok, 20,000"

And finally, you settle on 12,000 LL. You give him 20,000 LL. He says, "Sorry, I have no change," here expecting you to part with the 8,000 LL.

What's the solution to this problem? Uber. Total transparency. Clear pricing. No negotiation. No change. Automatic credit card payment.

So back to our question. What's the difference between hailing a taxi and buying an apartment? The answer is nothing. This is, more or less, what happens when you try to buy an apartment, with some appropriate modifications in the parameters. If you're a cash buyer, you'll pay 30% less. If you need a loan, especially with zero down payment, where he has to sign a fraudulent, illegal letter claiming that you already paid the 20% down, guess what? Your price will be 20% or higher. The more he "helps" you, the more you'll pay.

What's the solution here to protect the consumer? Price transparency. Publish all the sales prices so people know exactly what has been paid.

ٍSource: Real Estate in Lebanon