Click here for the full article: How to hunt for the right real estate agent before hunting for a home

By Michele Lerner, Published: February 20

…”Des Marais says that buying a home is a three-part process, including looking for property and arranging financing, negotiating a contract and then getting to settlement. She says an agent can provide advice and insight during each of those phases.

Says David Bediz, an agent with the Bediz Group at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Washington: “Realtors can sometimes show buyers properties that they didn’t think they wanted to see but that work for them. Realtors have the knowledge and connections to push an offer or to make sure it’s written strongly enough to compete with other offers when there’s competition. When there isn’t competition for a property, an experienced Realtor can make recommendations about how much to offer formulated on evidence of the actual home value.”

Bediz points out that because agents’ commissions are paid by the sellers from the profit of the sale, buyers get the guidance for free.

“There’s almost never a reason to buy a house without the representation of a Realtor,” he says.

Des Marais says experienced, full-time agents see so many properties that they can help buyers understand the value in different homes and be realistic about the condition of the property and potential repair costs.”