What would an agent do for me?

A good agent will be able to find apartments that meet your requirements before they are officially listed, and give you advice on what to offer based on market conditions (over or under the asking price).

What Jessica said. I will add that they truly do all of the legwork so that you only see places that meet your criteria. They'll set up private appointments to view the listings, so you don't have to wait for an open house or walk through it with the listing agent (because they know which areas from which to steer you away). A good buyer's agent will put you in touch with good home inspectors, good mortgage brokers, and essentially act as an advocate for you. When I was moving back to PA from MD, my realtor would send me listings in the areas I was interested in, I'd narrow them down, she'd push back sometimes and force me to consider another point of view, and then we'd visit 5 or 6 when I was in PA over the weekend. While I found the listing for my current home myself, my second choice hadn't officially hit the market when I saw it. I would have never known about it if it wasn't for her.

Most importantly your agent works for you and their interests are tied to yours. The selling agent is tied to the interests of the seller. Many selling agents will try to also represent you so that they can double dip and take both commissions on the sale, but then how can they really advocate for both sides of the negotiations? Your agent should guide you through the buying process, inspections, possible renegotiation of the price based on the results of the inspection. They should be watching out for your interests.

Thanks for the advice. I just contacted the agent that flea had recommended.

My mom also keeps trying to give me advice, but the last time she bought a house was 1985, so it's good to have advice from people who've done this within this century. (She also has trouble with telling the difference between "Click on this photo to see more photos of this apartment" and "Click on this photo to go to the page with a listing for a different apartment that you might like" on the real estate listings sites, so she keeps giving me comments on the wrong apartments, and she's getting very confused.)

Hil, I'm glad you contacted an agent. Everyone else is right that you need to have your own. Our agent was so wonderful about finding us just the right place.

I was just at the tail end of a cold, with a lingering cough but no other symptoms. Now, I'm at the beginning stages of a cold again with lots of sneezing and a head filled with goo. Do not want.

Just had leftover Cincinnati chili for dinner. It was a huge hit at the party. Thank you Jess!!

Just heard back from the agent, and the three apartments she suggested were exactly the three that had been my top choices from Zillow, so that seems like a good sign. With all of them, I wasn't sure whether or not there were stairs to get from the parking lot to the building, so I asked her to look into that.

Emily, I am so sorry to hear about your dad. He sounded like a wonderful person. Please let us know if we can be of any help.

Thanks, Vortex. He was pretty awesome. There's not much help to do unless you have advice to offer about doing probate accounting, or can get me a job. But I appreciate it anyway.

Dad of Emily sounds like my kind of guy. I'm so sorry you guys had to go through all that.

My advice for settling an estate would be to consult professionals, for I know nothing of that process and dread the day I have to deal with that project.