Select a real estate professional, as you would retain any professional such as an accountant, attorney or doctor. Basic considerations should be: full-time, minimum three years of real estate market experience, minimum 10-12 transaction sides each of last three years. Good communication, negotiation, and technology skills. Ask for past and current client references and check them. Your real estate professional is the one person who can set the tone for your good, bad or ugly real estate transaction.

Fast term. Agency: A business relationship where the principal (the buyer or seller) delegates to the agent the right to act on the principals behalf.

Fast tip. Before you place your home for sales have at least three full-time agents give their opinion of price, property marketing strategy, and current market conditions. In addition to receiving three perspectives on your property, you will also have two agents who wont receive your property listing but will be familiar with your home when it goes on market and can promote it to their clients and other agents in their company and office.

Fast fact. What do buyers most want from real estate professionals? The top reasons for selecting a real estate agent are agent help find the right home to purchase, tell how much home buyer could afford, help with price negotiations, help with paperwork, tell what comparable homes were selling for and help find and arrange financing. (Source: 2005 National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers)

Real estate help desk. Dear Mark: We fell in love with a home at a public open house. The sellers agent hosting told us that she could draw up our offer and present it to the seller. The agent wanted us sign a disclosure of dual agency. After we read the form we realized that the agent would be acting as a dual agent under state license law, which restricted her from performing many duties that we wanted her to perform in negotiation. We declined not to sign the disclosure. We found another home that we purchased with a buyers agent. What are the benefits of having a dual agent? Catherine, Argyle, Texas

Dear Catherine: There are few benefits from having a dual agent in a real estate contract. The only situation would be where you must have a specific property, there are multiple offers and you need the sellers agent to be a dual agent o provide their direct access. Educate yourself concerning state real estate license laws. As with all real estate contracts retain an attorney.