Advantages of a buyer's agent

Finding the best real estate agent
By Steve McLinden • Bankrate.com

Dear Steve,
My wife and I are starting the process of selecting a real estate agent for our soon-to-begin home search. Is there a downside or disadvantage to using an exclusive buyer's agent or is it as good an idea as it seems?
-- Johnny

Dear Johnny,
To me, there's only an upside, assuming you hire the right agent. That's because the job of an exclusive buyer's agent is to make sure your best interests are always being represented in a transaction.

Sure, you might know of buyers who successfully used a seller's listing agent to work in a dual agency role, representing buyer and seller. Such arrangements are sometimes facilitated by a dual agent who is willing to accept a discount commission -- say 3.5 percent instead the standard 6 percent -- that will come largely or fully out of the seller's pocket. But the ethics of such deals can be questionable, as you can imagine...

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