The path to buying a new home is neither straight nor narrow. There are numerous options available to new home buyers. One of them is having (or not having) a realtor handle your home shopping case.

While some new home buyers prefer to handle the so-called "dirty work" themselves, bypassing all "middlemen" and working directly with the seller; others choose to rely on a real estate agent to help them maneuver through the process.

When you choose to have the realtor services, you are getting the services of an agent who will coordinate the transaction on your behalf and serve as a liaison between you and the seller throughout the entire home buying process. Realtor's job also includes everything from finding and showing various properties to you to scheduling appointments and overseeing contracts and negotiations.

New home buyers often turn to their real estate agents for a range of helpful advice. For example, real estate agents can advise their clients when it comes to acquiring a mortgage loan (while, oftentimes, advocating for a particular lender), title company, attorney or closing agent. Yet, those on the receiving end are not beholden to follow their agent's advice. In fact, it is always a good idea to do your own research and comparisons apart from your agent's recommendations.

One advantage of using a real estate agent is that the service is free to the individual purchasing a new home. Real estate agents draw their compensation from the commission earned on a new home sale, and since the seller is solely responsible for paying out commission, the buyer's assets are unaffected. However, this usually is offset at closing since, more often than not, the buyer is expected to cover the majority of closing costs.