The cool thing about real estate agents (unlike attorneys) is that the great ones charge just as much as the bad ones. The uncool thing about real estate agent

The cool thing about real estate agents (unlike attorneys) is that the great ones charge just as much as the bad ones. The uncool thing about real estate agents is that the bad ones charge just as much as the good ones. My personal experience with real estate agents have been terrible. People who know nothing about the area, nothing about the home, and can't even answer rudimentary questions such as property taxes or school district. I have absolutely learned much more about homes and areas on websites. Further -- at least here -- the home is vetted by a home inspector, not the agent (the latter usually giving the most superficial of advice like "paint the walls" or "get a new countertop"). The legalities are handled by a real-estate lawyer. Etc. There absolutely should be assistance in both the buying and the selling of houses. Is it worth tens of thousands of dollars? Hardly.