I'll give some counterpoints given that so many others are supporting real-estate agents. 1) Real-estate agents make money on sales completing. Their primarily

I'll give some counterpoints given that so many others are supporting real-estate agents. 1) Real-estate agents make money on sales completing. Their primarily financial goal is to complete the sale. Whether this means that you are overpaying (or, for a seller's agent, are under-asking), or are buying a home that isn't right for you...that often matters less than simply closing the deal. 2) Never trust or take a recommendation for a home inspector or other service recommended by the agent. The home inspector has the motive of keeping the agent bringing the recommendations, and this means avoiding having findings that will compromise the deal. Remember, the agent only makes money when the sale completes, so if they spool someone along to buy a house, convince them to overpay to get a sale done, and then bring in the "best" home inspector they know to close the sale, that inspector had better not throw a wrench in it. Always consider conflicts of interest, and there is an enormous one if you use the agents contacts. 3) The legal work -- the bulk of the paperwork, and covering your back legally and so on -- is, in many jurisdictions, done by a lawyer, not a real-estate agent who is only responsible for the most cursory of forms. And that lawyer and his team of paralegals, who do all of the title checks and bank processes and the final close...they get a small fraction of what the real-estate agent gets. I find real-estate agents to be a profound anachronism. Sure, someone with neighborhood and pricing knowledge is of value, but is that worth tens of thousands of dollars? Is there anyone who would seriously argue that pricing makes sense?