Everyone has heard it said that buying a home is one of important decisions an individual will make. As such, the process of selecting your real estate agent is equally important.

Shelley O’Hara, author of ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buying & Selling a Home says, “When you announce your desire to purchase a house, you may be surprised at the number of real estate people who want to represent you. Agents come out of the woodwork. You won’t have to worry too much about finding an agent — you do need to worry about finding a good one.

Here are some helpful hints and suggestions:

First, and probably the one consideration for picking a real estate buying agent is a friends referral. If you know someone who had a really good experience with a local agent, give that agent serious consideration.

Second, avoid “dual agencies” – Dual agencies are when an agent represents both the seller and the buyer. While this type of arrangement is not that common it happens more often than you would think. In a typical scenario, the home buyer is driving around and sees a realtor sign or open house held by selling agent. The Buyer comes into this transaction where the selling agent is all too happy to help the home buyer and receives a double-end commission. The primary issue is simply a question of where the agent’s loyalty belongs. Is it to the seller or the new buyer? If there the negotiations hit a snag, or a serious question or discrepancy – what happens? » Read more: Real Estate – How To Select An Agent