• the Agent’s commitment to 100% loyalty to the Buyer,
• protection and promotion of the Buyer's best interests,
• keeping confidential Buyer's personal or financial information,
• negotiating for the best price and terms on Buyer's behalf, and
• providing his/her best advice regarding matters affecting the purchase of property.

• Listing Agent. In contrast to Buyer Agents, Listing Agents work with Sellers in the marketing of properties for sale; they devote most of their efforts to finding potential Sellers whose property they may list (or offer) to sell. Listing Agents have a fiduciary responsibility to the Seller (not the Buyer).  Listing Agents’ skills focus on reaching out to prospective buyers, securing listings, preparing/staging a property for sale, advertising and promoting the property to other agents and to the public (including holding houses open for inspection) and reviewing offers from prospective buyers. Contact between a Listing Agent and his/her sellers is mostly limited to functional issues (e.g., nature and frequency of property advertising, reviewing purchase offers) and progress reports; the Listing Agent’s set of skills centers around marketing (both of oneself to prospective Sellers and of properties to prospective Buyers).

In summary, a Listing Agent provides professional marketing skills and in circumstances that require a somewhat less personal relationship with clients.

• Buyer’s Agent. Buyer’s Agents apply their skills to learning what the Buyer is looking for, searching for properties that match the Buyer’s criteria, visiting properties to evaluate property condition and value to the Buyer, preparing an offer to purchase, applying experience-based strategies to the preparation and presentation of an offer so that it serves the buyer’s interests and also helps ensure that the Buyer’s offer prevails over possible competing offers presented by other agents and buyers for the purchase of the same property. Unlike Listing Agents, contact between a Buyer’s Agent and the purchaser working with him/her covers the range of activities related to the entire process of home buying (e.g., financial qualification and limits, identifying types of properties to inspect, reviewing the pros and cons of specific properties in order to sharpen the search process, etc.). A Buyer’s Agent’s set of skills centers around knowing the Buyer’s requirements, understanding the current real estate market, and contract preparation experience (in the Washington area the typical purchase offer is over 30 pages in length).

In summary, a Buyer’s Agent provides a professional “house-hunting” service using all the tools available to a Realtor, and provides this service in a circumstance that requires a more personal, relationship-based approach.

• Dual Agent. The law permits an agent to work as a dual agent (through the agent's broker), i.e., serving the needs of the transaction and both the buyer and the seller in instances where the property that the Buyer wishes to purchase is also listed by the buyer’s agent’s real estate company or by the buyer’s agent him- or herself.

• connecting the Buyer with an effective Mortgage Broker who understands the Buyer’s objectives and who can select the best loan program for the Buyer’s needs and circumstances,
• learning the characteristics of a home which meet the requirements and desires of the Buyer (e.g., location, number of bedrooms and baths, types of homes the Buyer likes and dislikes, lot size and type, transportation access, etc.),
• providing the Buyer with listing information on properties that match the desired characteristics, visiting/inspecting potential properties,
• suggesting purchase and negotiation strategies,
• preparing the contract offer,
• negotiating contract terms,
• aiding Buyer in finding a home inspector, insurance coverage, settlement attorney, and
• generally assisting, informing and advising the Buyer regarding all aspects of a real estate transaction.