FOURTH UPDATE (the latest): I am leaving the original post below intact, which should allow new readers to understand the context of this thread. At the same time, please note that the original question below is now moot and the discussion has shifted to other real estate related topics, which is perfectly fine. For the latest, see the end of this thread.
DISCLOSURE: It is probably time for me to come clean at this point. It is sometimes a lot of fun to push people's buttons and to create conflict with knuckleheads. I can't really push people's buttons unless I appear to be very passionate about the positions that I take. So, as you can imagine, I do believe in some of the positions that I've taken in the thread more than others.
The premise of the thread is real but it is moot at this point, since I found a bank yesterday (a large regional bank) that agreed to issue a pre-approval in my wife's name alone and to insert my proposed language in the disclaimer stating that additional co-borrowers not otherwise referenced in the pre-approval may have agreed to join the referenced borrower in obtaining this pre-approval. The bank tells me that it actually would not have had a problem issuing the pre-approval in my nickname either but there is a small tactical advantage in keeping my name completely off the contract, so we went with that.
Regardless, this is an interesting topic and, if people are interested, I have no problem continuing to answer questions here, debating issues related to the op and the like. A couple of people on this board who knew was I was doing just asked me to consider making the above disclosure to prevent a few other posters in this thread from having a heart attack, as this topic seems to have really struck a chord with them.
Background: We are considering entering into negotiations on a house we just found and are trying to come up with a creative way to conceal my identity. The house was built and is now occupied by a custom builder and his fiance and, as such, was built incredibly well with a rather astonishing attention to even the smallest details, using very high end materials everywhere. This is a pretty standard strategy used by high end custom builders throughout the country. They build a subidivision and move into one of the houses there themselves for two years, which allows them to shield the gain on the house from taxation. They then sell the house, take the profits tax free (even in the worst of real estate markets, there is typically a significant profit there for them since they are able to build the house at their cost) and move on to the next project. For a number of reasons, our negotiations with the builder and his fiance (an experienced real estate agent, who is serving as the listing agent on this property) would be FAR easier if we could find a way to conceal my identity from them.
Alternative 1: The way this is normally done in the commercial real estate context where the purchaser needs to conceal its identity, is by forming a shell entity, which enters into the purchase contract, which contract is then assigned to the true owner right before closing. Standard residential real estate contracts do not have an assignment provision built into them and specifically adding such a provision to the contract would raise too many red flags in the sellers' minds. So, this idea seems to be out.
Alternative 2: My wife is in residency and, for professional reasons, has a different last name from mine (revealing her identity would not create a problem). Although we could theoretically put the contract in just her name, as a resident she alone won't qualify for the mortgage, so she wouldn't be able to attach a pre-approval letter to the contract. So, this idea also probably would not work.
Are there any creative ways that people here can think of to conceal my identity from the sellers? For the purposes of this thread, please do not create off-topic comments about the terrible state of the real estate markets, enter into buy vs. rent debates, etc...
UPDATE: Since this thread has gotten quite long, I thought I would create this update to let people know that tolamapS has proposed an incredibly simple but very effective solution to the problem: using a a strategically chosen mis-spelling in my name. For instance, if my name is John F. Macey it can be presented as J. Fred Mackey. Assuming that I can get a pre-approval with the same spelling (which would be FAR easier than getting one in just my wife's name) this would most likely solve the issue. Great thought! At this point, although I continue to reply to questions, I do not necessarily expect to receive better suggestions. I have not yet applied for a pre-approval with a nickname and do not know whether the banks would go for it or not. Regardless, I would actually explain all of this to the banks and then ask them if they would have a problem listing my nickname on the pre-approval. In other words, the bank would have all my correct information, including the correct legal spelling of my name. They'd just be asked to use a nickname on the preapproval. It'd be then be up to them to decide whether they would do it. Judging by a few PM's I have received, it should not be a problem.
Let me now deal with some of the other suggestions and comments which have already been addressed several times in the thread, so that we can perhaps reduce the number of duplicative suggestions and comments:
Comment 1: The sellers know what they are doing, have certainly sold to lawyers before and won't be afraid of dealing with another lawyer. Hence, no need to worry about concealing my identity.
Response: I don't think that they'd be afraid of me in the least. My concern is that their marketing strategy for the house is based on an emotional response to it, which they are quite likely to get from plenty of people out there. When you are dealing with a buyer who you consider to be "sophisticated," you can more or less safely assume that the emotional reaction you are hoping for isn't going to happen. Hence, if you can get $X from a buyer that you consider to be purely "rational," you are likely to reject that offer and hope for $X+Y from a regular buyer who's more likely to be driven by emotion. This is the same reason that car dealers, for instance, sometimes (often?) do not make their best offers to women, who they perceive as more likely to act based on emotions than men, and who they perceive as having a more difficult time walking away from the deal. This is QUITE common in the commercial real estate industry where all the players with perceived "sophistication" have to hide their true identities to get the best deals. It certainly is quite possible that I am overanalyzing the situation here and that revealing my true identity won't make much, if any, difference. I just do not see any upside to doing it (other than, perhaps, sparing all of you from reading this thread, which I am sure some will see as a significant benefit 
) and see plenty of significant potential downsides.
Comment 2:The shadier and more evasive you get, the more suspicious they will be.
Response: I totally agree, which is the reason that I would never use shell companies, assignment clauses, etc... Further, the main concern here is not that the sellers will think that including an assignment clause in a purchase contract is somehow shady. It is not shady and I am not concerned that the sellers would think that. The concern is that only purchasers who are perceived to be "sophisticated" typically include assignment clauses or use 3rd party entities to purchase regular residential properties, which is the perception that I am trying to avoid.
Comment 3:Why not put the contract in my wife's name but then get the mortgage in our joint names? The sellers won't care who is on the mortgage as long as they get the money.
Response: You do not need to be a very sophisticated seller to know that you need to require a solid mortgage approval to accompany an offer. In this case, our offer will not even be considered unless a solid mortgage approval (not one obtained from a mortgage broker) accompanies it. My wife is a resident and, as such, cannot obtain a mortgage/mortgage pre-approval in her name alone. All the banks I contacted yesterday categorically (and appropriately, in my opinion) refused to issue a pre-approval in my wife's name alone while considering our joint incomes in our files. Hence, if both our names are printed on the pre-approval, omitting my name from the purchase contract accomplishes absolutely nothing in this case.
Comment 4: Why not draft the contract as a cash only deal with my wife being the only purchaser? This way I won't have to attach a pre-approval to the contract.
Response: This approach won't work for even mildly knowledgeble sellers regardless of the price. If I make it an all cash deal, they will require proof of funds to establish that there is sufficient cash to purchase the property outright.
Comment 5: Why not actually pay cash for the house titling it in my wife's name (or the name of a family friend, etc...) and then transfer the house in our joint names after closing?
Response: First, we do reasonably well financially but are not rich and can't just pay cash for the house. Second and most importantly, this strategy would subject us to a substantial transfer tax liability in our state.
Thank you all VERY MUCH for all the helpful and substantive comments and suggestions I have received. They are all very much appreciated!
P.S.
From the normative standpoint, some people have stated that they view the act of slightly misspelling my name to make it more difficult for the sellers to "google" me as unethical or immoral. I understand where these people are coming from but here is the way I look at it. The other side has absolutely no right to pry into my life or to get details about me that I'd rather keep private. With all the technology out there, however, it has become incredibly easy to get background information on people, to find out the types of websites that they'd like to surf, to get information about the food that they eat, the medication that they take, etc... In my and many other people's books, it is actually the snooping around to get all this information that we would like to keep private that is the immoral and unethical act.
I have no control over my firm's decision to make my work profile public. Short of quitting my job and hidiing under a rock, I really have very little control over the otherwise personal information that ends up on the internet. Why is it unethical or immoral to take a simple and perfectly legal step of slightly misspelling my name and, thereby, making it more difficult for the sellers to snoop around to get the information that I have no legal, ethical or moral duty to disclose to them? Why should I have to pay more for a house simply because the internet has made it easy for people to google each other and my firm's decision to put my profile on the internet has the potential to cause me not to get the best deal that another buyer without such a public internet profile can get?
