Add to that the title company which actually does much of important legwork of getting all the ducks in a row, and doing the research and insuring the transaction. I've never had a real-estate agent that did much more than recommend inspectors/mortgage companies/etc. In the end I've never actually used any of the recommended people because I've been able to find better deals on my own. Pretty much once the title company is named, its more a case of relaying all the information to them where they distribute it to interested parties.

AKA, much of what you think your real-estate agent was doing was likely the title company. Even more so from the perspective of the seller.

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/duties-roles-title-company-2...