HOME BUYING
From Listings to Living
It is a Saturday open house in Austin. The agent at the door works for a different brokerage than the one that listed the home, and before you can walk through, she hands you a form to sign. You have not chosen an agent yet. You only wanted to see the kitchen.
That form is the new normal. If you are looking for a real estate agent, buying a house now starts with paperwork: since August 17, 2024, agents working with buyers through an MLS have to sign a written agreement with the buyer before touring a home, and that agreement has to say what the agent will be paid. Texas went further on January 1, 2026, writing a similar requirement into state law for every license holder who works with a residential buyer. You are not required to hire an agent at all, but most buyers do. The real decisions are which agent, on what terms, and for how much.
This guide covers the buyer's side: what an agent does for you, how the agreement works, how pay is negotiated, how to interview candidates, and when buying without an agent makes sense. How the commission is shown at closing is covered separately in whether closing costs include realtor fees.
Leevli Editorial Team
No law we know of requires a buyer to hire one. Florida's brokerage statute, section 475.278, says so directly: it "does not require a customer to enter into a brokerage relationship with any real estate licensee." Still, most buyers choose to. The National Association of Realtors' 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, released November 4, 2025, found that 88 percent of buyers used an agent or broker, and 92 percent of buyers of previously owned homes did. NAR is a trade group for agents, so read the figure as a measure of habit, not a verdict on value.
What a good buyer's agent adds is mostly judgment and logistics:
The value varies with the agent and with you. A first-time buyer choosing between property types, the trade-off laid out in condo vs house, usually gets more from an agent than an investor buying a fourth unit in the same building.
According to NAR's settlement summary, the agreement is required before touring, in person or by live virtual tour, but not to talk with an agent at an open house. It must state the agent's compensation in objective terms, such as $0, a flat fee, a percentage or an hourly rate, not open-ended. It must bar the agent from receiving more from any source than the agreement allows. And it must say conspicuously that broker fees and commissions are fully negotiable and not set by law. Offers of buyer agent compensation were also removed from MLS listings.
The Texas Real Estate Commission's January 7, 2026 explainer describes changes that took effect January 1, 2026. Under Texas Occupations Code section 1101.563, a license holder working with a residential buyer needs a written agreement before showing any property or, if nothing is shown, before presenting an offer. The agreement must list the services, the termination date, whether it is exclusive, the amount or rate of compensation and how it is determined, and a conspicuous statement that broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable.
Texas also allows a lighter version: a non-representation agreement for showings only, which must be non-exclusive and last no more than 14 days. That explains the open house scene. An agent from the listing brokerage can host without an agreement, but an agent from another brokerage must provide the information about brokerage services form and a written agreement before you view the home. If you are touring in Austin's Mueller or anywhere else in Texas, expect that form at the door whenever the host is not from the listing brokerage.
The fee in your agreement is what your agent can earn; the question is who funds it. The seller may still pay all or part of it, either through an offer made off the MLS or as a term you negotiate in the purchase contract. Whatever the seller does not cover, you owe.
Say you are buying a $450,000 house in Raleigh's Five Points, and your agreement sets the fee at 2.5 percent, or $11,250. The scenarios below are illustrative:
| Seller's contribution | Seller pays | You pay at closing |
|---|---|---|
| Covers the full fee | $11,250 | $0 |
| Contributes 2 percent of the price | $9,000 | $2,250 |
| Contributes nothing | $0 | $11,250 |
Plan for your share in cash. A purchase loan is sized to the price and your down payment, so a fee you owe your own agent generally cannot be added to it, as our guide to rolling closing costs into a mortgage explains. VA buyers have a specific rule: VA Circular 26-24-14, effective August 10, 2024, temporarily lets veterans pay reasonable and customary buyer-broker charges, but those charges are not included in the loan amount and count toward the cash needed to close.
Two negotiating levers matter more than the headline rate. A flat fee or a lower percentage is worth asking for when your search is narrow, such as one building you already know. And a flat dollar amount, rather than a percentage, tells you your worst case before you start touring.
The cap works in your favor too. Because the agent cannot receive more than the agreement allows from any source, a seller who offers more than your agreed fee does not raise what your agent collects. The difference is something to negotiate into the price or a credit, so tell your agent up front that you expect it handled that way.
Interview two or three agents before signing anything that runs longer than a single showing. These interview questions for a real estate agent get past the sales pitch:
Check the license with your state's real estate commission before the first showing; our guide to what a real estate broker is covers license tiers and how to verify them.
Question 5 is where an exclusive buyer agent differs. The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents defines one as an agent at a company that "never represents sellers and never takes listings," and contrasts that with the dual agency common at traditional firms. With no in-house listings, the agent never has to steer you toward, or away from, a home the firm is also selling.
The alternative arrangements depend on the state. In Florida, licensees cannot act as dual agents and are presumed to be transaction brokers, a limited form of representation, unless a single agent relationship, or no brokerage relationship, is set up in writing. Ask any agent which role they will play if both sides end up at the same brokerage, and get the answer in writing.
Going without an agent means doing the agent's work yourself: finding homes, pricing an offer, filling in the contract, tracking deadlines and negotiating repairs. The listing agent represents the seller, not you. Buyers who do this well usually have a narrow search, a clear sense of value and a professional reviewing the contract.
That professional is often a real estate attorney, and in some states an attorney is part of the transaction whether or not anyone hires an agent. South Carolina's Supreme Court, in Doe v. McMaster (2003), repeated its earlier holding that "real estate and mortgage loan closings should be conducted only under the supervision of attorneys." If you are buying in Charleston's French Quarter, an attorney will supervise the closing either way. In New York, the New York State Bar Association notes that the seller's attorney drafts the contract of sale, so buyers there, from Brooklyn Heights to Buffalo, should have their own lawyer review it before signing. Practice in other states varies, so check your own state's before you decide.
Whether you hire an agent, an attorney or both, the next step is the same: put the terms in writing before you tour or sign. The people already living in the buildings on your list can tell you which agents know them; ask on Ask a Resident and start your search on Leevli's listings.
Agent quality is local and specific, and the people who bought in a building recently know which agents understood it.
Listings show the property, but they rarely explain the lived reality around it. On Leevli, a mover can explore the city, review neighborhood and building information, and ask a verified resident the specific questions that remain unanswered. That human layer helps readers know what to investigate before signing a lease, making an offer, or choosing between two addresses.
No. You can buy without one, and Florida's brokerage law states that customers are not required to enter a brokerage relationship. Most buyers still use an agent: NAR's 2025 profile put the share at 88 percent. Going without one works best when your search is narrow and you have a real estate attorney or another professional reviewing the contract and deadlines.
An attorney and an agent do different jobs. In South Carolina, the Supreme Court has said closings should be conducted only under attorney supervision, so an attorney is involved either way. In New York, the seller's attorney drafts the contract, so buyers are wise to have their own lawyer review it. An agent finds and prices homes; the attorney handles the legal documents.
Pricing your offer from recent comparable sales, structuring contingencies and deadlines, coordinating the inspection and negotiating repairs, requesting association documents for a condo, and keeping the lender and title company on schedule. The value depends on the agent's local knowledge and on your experience. First-time buyers and buyers relocating from another state often get the most from one.
Whatever your written agreement says, stated as a flat fee, a percentage, an hourly rate or $0. The seller may pay all or part of it. In an illustrative $450,000 purchase with a 2.5 percent fee, you would owe nothing if the seller covers it, $2,250 if the seller contributes 2 percent, and $11,250 if the seller contributes nothing.
As long as the agreement says. NAR's summary of the settlement rules requires the agreement before touring but sets no fixed term, so the length is negotiable; ask for one that fits your search. In Texas, a non-representation agreement for showings only must be non-exclusive and end within 14 days, while a full representation agreement states its own termination date.
Interview two or three. Ask how many buyers they have represented in your target area in the past year, who will actually show homes, what their fee is and what happens if the seller pays less, whether the term can be shortened, and how they handle a home their own brokerage has listed. Verify the license with your state's real estate commission.
An agent at a firm that represents only buyers. The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents defines it as a company that never represents sellers and never takes listings. That removes the conflict that arises when you want a home your own agent's brokerage is selling, which at other firms can mean dual agency or, in Florida, a transaction broker role.
Under NAR's rules, you can talk to an agent at an open house without one, but an MLS agent needs a signed agreement before touring a home with you. Texas is stricter: an open house host from a brokerage other than the listing firm must get a written agreement before you view. You can also contact the listing agent, who represents the seller.
Yes, under a temporary rule. VA Circular 26-24-14, effective August 10, 2024, lets veterans pay reasonable and customary buyer-broker charges where that pay cannot come through the listing broker. The charges cannot be added to the loan amount and count toward the cash you need to close, so budget for them before you sign the buyer agreement.
Signing a long exclusive agreement at the first showing without reading the compensation clause. If the seller contributes less than your agreed fee, you owe the difference at closing. Ask for a shorter term, a defined area or a flat fee, and get every answer in the written agreement itself.
This article is informational and does not constitute legal, financial, tax or insurance advice.
