I kind of like having that layer of someone who knows what they're doing. House purchasing and selling isn't something we do often, so a knowledgeable person seems like a reasonable investment. Same reason you shouldn't be your own lawyer.

I do have some qualms about how they get paid. The commission I pay my own agent doesn't really even bother me that much, although they're obviously incentivized to get us to buy the most expensive home we can afford. But the commission that the seller pays to the agent for the purchasers disturbs the hell out of me - it's a pretty clear conflict of interest.

We had a "Buyers Agent" for our last purchase - this is someone that only does buying; they do not sell homes. The idea being there's less conflict of interest because they're not trying to sell you a home they have listed (the company he owned did not list homes at all). Great idea, but they still take the commission from the seller, so it's not perfect. We worked with another agent from a different company for selling the old house.