The Listing Agent Works for the Seller. Not for You.
You can tour a house with the listing agent. You can even write an offer with them. Under Texas agency law they still represent the seller. Their job is to get the best price and terms for the person who hired them. Your interests are not the same.
What that looks like in practice
The listing agent knows the seller’s bottom line, the reason they are moving, and which repairs they will not do. They are not required to volunteer that information to you. They are required to present your offer. They are not required to negotiate it as if they were on your side. When something comes up in the inspection, their duty is to the seller.
Zillow and the portals do not change the law
A lead that comes through a portal is still a lead. The agent who answers it may be the listing agent, a team member, or someone who paid for the contact. None of those facts make them your agent. The relationship starts when you sign an agreement with someone whose job is to represent you.
I represent the buyer or the seller. Not both on the same file.
Start the file on the buy page if you are purchasing. The agreement is what puts me on your side of the contract.
The difference shows up in the negotiation
Price is visible. The rest is not. Who pays for the survey, how the inspection response is written, whether the seller will credit closing costs, and what happens if the appraisal is short are all negotiated. The agent who only represents you has one set of instructions. The agent who represents the seller has a different set. You cannot get both from the same person.
If you are selling, the same rule applies in reverse. The buyer’s agent is not working for you.
The file is the clean version
You can still look at houses. You can still talk to listing agents. The moment you want someone whose only job is to protect your side of the deal, the agreement is what creates that relationship. Everything before that is just conversation.
