It does depend on the agent. I trusted mine and saw no red flags during, or after the transaction. He was referred to me by a colleague who is a serial house ownership addict, and I referred him on to several others, and all were pleased. My own house was listed at $X, so I simply asked him "what's it really worth?" He said $Y, where, at the time, Y<X and houses took time to sell, and we went through a few rounds of the haggling thing with the seller until they counteroffered $Y, and then accepted, easy peasy. And the house I now live in is one he added to a tour of several I had picked, and THAT was the one I instinctively liked and still do. That's really how it's supposed to go, right?