Real Estate market is a sea of millions, if not billions of people in America. A hefty sum of money is involved with it. At the same time, it is very tough to get through the nitty-gritty of the real estate market for a newbie. That is why most of them take the help of professionals. These professionals can either be called agent or broker. But sometimes the problem arises because of their dubious activities.

Anyone who has hired an agent or broker to either buy or sell a house, should know the role of the agent very clearly. It is being advised due to the fact that, in the past, it had been heard that an agent who was working for the buyer, was actually engaged in favor of the interest of the seller, and vice-versa.

It is the responsibility of the agent to navigate his client in this huge market so that he could reap the maximum benefit out of the dealing. So choosing an agent is a big deal. It is very important to know the basics before hiring an agent or broker.

A real estate broker is the one who actually helps to buy or sell a property and for that a fee or commission is charged. It is mandatory to have a license as a real estate broker in many states of USA to act on behalf of the property owner. First of all we should be clear about the fact that a broker and an agent are two terms which are interchangeably used. But at times, an agent works for or with broker, and his main role remains as a salesperson in the property dealings. The commission generated from the sale by the agent is to be paid to the broker.

Based on the specific function played by the real estate agent in property dealing, for better understanding, we have categorized an agent in four main types:

• Seller’s agents
• Buyer’s agents
• Cooperating agents, and
• Dual agents

Types of Agents:

Seller’s Agent: An agent being hired by a seller in property dealing is known as Seller’s agent. Once hired, a listing agreement is followed between the seller and the agent, which gives an exclusive right to the agent to list the property for sale for a specific period of time, usually three to six months.

Buyer’s Agent: It is essential to do an agreement or contract with an agent before buying a house. Unless you do it, you may fall into the hands of a seller’s agent whose only focus is to sell a house from the list of property he has, and thereby, generate a commission from both ends. A dedicated buyer’s agent looks only for the best interest of the buyer.

Co-operating Agent: A co-operative agent is a sub-ordinate to seller’s agent. In many states, they are known as either “showing agent” or “cooperating agent”. Their responsibility is to show to the potential buyers the seller’s property. They are paid if the sale is made.

Dual Agent: If an agent works in both ways, i.e. for the buyer as well as the seller, she is known as dual agent. It is always easy to work with a dual agent on a particular deal rather than having a buyer and seller agent on the same one. But practicing this sometimes may be potentially harmful for a buyer or a seller. Because a seller who aims to get a bigger deal may not get that because of the dual agent’s partial dealing towards buyer. Similarly a buyer may get a raw deal because of the dual agent’s dishonest act.