I have gotten a lot of value from the two I've used as a buyer, and also the one I used as a seller. On the buyer side, once we'd toured a few houses and they

I have gotten a lot of value from the two I've used as a buyer, and also the one I used as a seller. On the buyer side, once we'd toured a few houses and they understood better what we wanted, the number of "No, not a chance" houses dropped to almost zero. Also, when we were just "tire-kicking" and said we had no intent to buy for a year or more, our realtor flat out told us she enjoys seeing new houses and even if we aren't ready it's good leg-work and research for her to do for other clients anyway. Once we found one she was excellent at getting us to the right people for financing, inspections, etc. - in a very small local market. She was also incredibly helpful when we were trying to find a temporary rental from across the ocean remotely, which is what led us to ask her to help find a house to buy eventually. On the seller side, we left the country, and my realtor sold our house at an amount that covered his commission and then some with almost no effort from us at all. He had the place cleaned, staged, and photographed as part of his fee, and sold it in a day. Yes, I'm sure like any occupation there are people bad at their job and just collecting cash for doing damn near nothing, but if you find a good one on either side, they can add a lot. Look for referrals from people who've had good experiences, and don't just pick a name from the phone book.