WRONG!

THE TRUTH:
Even when you DO make the very wise choice to use your OWN buying agent to represent you on the purchase of your new home (instead of working directly with the 'listing agent' who's representing the seller's property), you're STILL faced with ANOTHER choice....the choice of WHICH buying agent you should choose. And all buyer agents are NOT the same!

Why? Well, to begin with, although buying agents do represent you, the buyer—they ALSO have their own agenda. With that being 'close a sale as quickly as possible' (so that their commission-earnings can be reaped with the MINIMUM amount of work and effort)—and 'MAXIMIZE the commission to be earned (from the portion they're due to receive from their 'sharing arrangement' with the 'listing agent').

So from the very beginning, do understand that the higher the price that YOU pay, the MORE your buying agent will make. And though it's obviously not really fair for your agent to be paid more (for the same work!) as the price you pay increases, that's just the nature of the 'system' with commission-earning buyer-agents. And because of this, many times—and sadly—a buyer agent WILL be putting their OWN interests over YOURS! They might for example try to pressure you into the transaction--and might NOT go out of their way to negotiate the best deal for you, for fear that they stand to lose what they see to be a quick-commission so near on the horizon.

Which means that finding that 'optimal' agent who will REALLY 'fight' for you—and who will voluntarily advise you to 'walk away from a deal' that they see you can potentially be pressured into closing (for their OWN immediate benefit)—is NOT really going to be as easy a task as it might initially seem.

And that's not the only problem. Because you ALSO have to make sure in your choice-of-agent that they really DO have the level of experience and expertise and objectivity and negotiating skills that will be so important to you. Are they the type that will take the time to point out potential problems with the home you're seeing---and do they even have the experience and eye to do this? And WILL they? And how adept are they REALLY at negotiating 'hard' for you! And will they REALLY go out of their way to search-out and steer you to the home that's perfect for you?

Knowing WHO YOUR AGENT 'IS' therefore becomes a critical decision. And a big one. So you REALLY have to do the research to learn who you'll be dealing with---and NOT choose just the first agent you meet, nor one from the most heavily-advertised real estate company. Because the service with which you stand to be provided can vary widely from agent to agent as can the quality of the service. And you certainly should ensure that you'll get the best service available. And ensure that your agent WILL put your interests ahead of the seller's, as well as ahead of any of their OWN quick-commission objectives. And such an agent is not an easy find!