Not being from the USA, I am not sure how this works. In the UK, generally the person selling a house finds an agent to sell it for them - they normally charge

Not being from the USA, I am not sure how this works. In the UK, generally the person selling a house finds an agent to sell it for them - they normally charge a fee based on the sale price that the seller has to pay. The buy doesn't require an agent, or pay anything (apart from the price agreed for the house). After the sale is agreed, the solicitors get involved, and both the buyer and seller will have to pay his own solicitor. In the USA do you need to pay a fee to an agent to buy a house too? Do they perform the duties of a solicitor or provide any useful function at all for this fee?